Without a doubt, voters are listening to a host of candidates tout their involvement in a property tax freeze signed into law during the last state budget session less than a year ago.
Listen carefully. Learn their names. Then throw the bums out.
After all, their wisdom means that Douglas County can no longer afford volunteers to provide vital services in the county.
Yes, volunteers.
These are the Rescue Squad members who race to the scene of horrific accidents on their own time to extract victims from vehicles and give them another chance at life. They are people who freely give of their time to find a lost child or misdirected hunter amidst thousands of acres of forest land.
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Their reward: Knowing they helped someone in need.
We're not talking salaries and benefits here. They're volunteers. They don't get the fat package afforded to fast-talking lawmakers and many others who receive their paychecks from state government while yipping about excessive local spending.
But the property tax freeze approved by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor has crippled Douglas County's ability to buy needed vehicles for rescuers.
It has hand-tied the county's ability to expend money for fuel and training needed to perform the vital rescue services at very little cost to the taxpayers.
As Supervisor Karen Livingston appropriately noted, the services we have come to expect need to be paid for somehow. And ultimately, it's taxpayers who will foot the bill.
That's why people should not commend legislators and governors who keep no-new-tax promises by forcing the next layer of government to take responsibility for hard decisions. Nor should they be quick to forgive county officials who cut volunteers in a misguided effort to save money -- or a misguided stunt to shock the county into redirecting its resources.
After all, towns and villages will end up picking up the slack by the county's decisions with no more ability to pay for the service than the county.
We don't dispute Douglas County cannot pay for a new fleet of vehicles to replace the long neglected fleet held by the Douglas Rescue Squad under the current constraints. However, maybe it's time for a creative solution.
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Maybe the sheriff can give them a lift in the new top-of-the-line Jeep he's driving these days.
CLARIFICATION: The Jeep Commander driven by Douglas County Sheriff Tom Dalbec was paid for through the Jail Assessment Fund, which is funded through traffic citations for jail capital improvements.
