Brenda Seehafer, Rolla

Vote “NO” on the ballot measure proposing the elimination of property taxes! This measure affects everyone in every community in the great state of North Dakota. We all use local public services: whether it is the roads we travel on, the schools our children attend, accessing the local fire department or the local police department, water maintenance, going to the public library, the list goes on.

The State of North Dakota would need to come up with $1.329 billion per year to cover the lost revenue from property taxes to fund the essential services like those I listed above, and there is no well-vetted plan to make up for this loss. Do you want local control taken away from your local budget? Officials in each community know more about the needs of that community than someone at the state level does, and we elect these people in our communities for a reason. If passed, this measure takes away your voice about what your community needs.

Eliminating property taxes threatens the essential public services that keep us all safe and provides the infrastructure we need to live and work in a community that we call home. North Dakota would be the only state in the nation to eliminate property taxes if this measure passes; as a lifelong North Dakota resident, I know this is not a “first” I would be proud to share with others. And perhaps most dangerous of all, if, a few years down the road, we collectively conclude it was a terrible idea, we’ll be stuck with it; this is a constitutional amendment that would be nearly impossible to reverse, if it is passed.

Something about property tax elimination that really puts things in perspective for me relates to schools. As a school teacher in Rolla, this really scares me and many other educators. That’s because 30-40% of school budgets come directly from property taxes. Without locally controlled money, it’ll be nearly impossible to build new or upgrade old facilities, rural areas could be forced to consolidate, and districts will have less money for curricula and teachers’ salaries. Do you want to continue supporting the youth in your community? Then vote “NO” on the ballot measure proposing the elimination of property taxes.