I had begun to think my household was the only one in Hall County who doesn't want a tax hike or can't afford one and knows the issues we face fall at the feet of the ego-laden Board of Commissioners.

It is a mystery to me why government entities on every level have no ability to plan for the future. They are all short-sighted. They almost never look forward two, five or 10 years when making decisions.

In 2008, when this county was knee-deep in a recession that still blankets our country, why did you keep on doing what you had done for years: Spend, spend and spend? Why didn't you stop and think, "perhaps we need to pull back on some things?" Was it your arrogance that made you think the piper wouldn't one day have to be paid?

So now, here we are, neck-deep in a recession that shows no signs of letting up, what are you people still doing? Spend spend spend. And, Ashley Bell, Craig Lutz and Scott Gibbs, you are not without guilt in this mess. The irresponsible purchase of the Liberty Mutual building is just the tip of the iceberg and just because you may not have voted in favor doesn't excuse your guilt in putting this county in the situation we find ourselves.

Then there is the ridiculous power play they pulled in January, firing hard-working, loyal employees and an attorney to show how "powerful" they are. How many hundreds of thousands of dollars have the three of them cost this county with grandstanding?

An across-the-board 20 percent cut of every department is a good place to start, and put the Liberty Mutual building on the market immediately. Stop using scare tactics to manipulate me and everyone else into going along with your already-decided-upon tax hike.

And stop telling us that it will "only be" $100 on a house of $180,000. How many houses in this community are worth more than that? Where are those homeowners? Why aren't they screaming in meetings about this? (And why is the commission packing these meetings with its own employees?)

The action you now take with the tax hike is just one more power play by a group of self-important men who don't have a clue what we are really thinking and dealing with. Stop your use of scare tactics. Stop spending. And hear this: I don't want my taxes to go up.

When you institute the new tax hike, because we all know you will in spite of what people want, when money begins to flow again in five years, will you lower taxes?

You men should go take some accounting classes or economic classes. The purses of your county constituents are not bottomless, nor are they full of untapped Aunt Maude's inheritance.

Stop spending. And, be reasonable.

S.L. Taylor
Gainesville