Last December this column discussed the tremendous increase in taxes paid
to, and spent by, Martin County. We pointed out that the price of county
government had gone up by 140 percent in less than 10 years and nearly 30
percent in the last two years. During this same period of time, the
population had grown only by some 28 percent. How was this possible without
an uproar from our residents? The answer is, we speculated a "stealth"
increase in property taxes, which has now been well-documented.

On Jan. 27 a headline in The Stuart News read: "Martin's used home prices up
20%" and "Median existing home price in 2003 jumped from $128,300 to
$153,900." Further into the article it also noted that there was a 13
percent increase in the number of homes sold in Martin and St. Lucie
counties from 2002 to 2003. Every time a home is resold, the tax valuation
increases to the new sale price -- a real boon to local budgets. Great news!
Or is it?

For those speculators wanting to sell in the near future, it certainly is.
For those intending to retire, raise families or just make Martin County
their home for an extended period -- they might look at it from another
point of view.

Martin County's increasing property values and resale volume have allowed
our government to become used to rapidly rising income without the
politically risky requirement of raising tax rates.

Why is this a problem? Because it allows waste to be tolerated and
unjustified services to be instituted in an effort by elected officials to
maintain their jobs by pleasing as many residents as possible.

More importantly, it is not a sustainable situation. California, Long Island
and many other desirable locations have enjoyed similar bursts of 20-plus
percent per-year home-price increases. All of these areas now suffer from
the exorbitant tax rates required as communities try to maintain newly
defined "essential services," and inflated pay scales for government
workers, in the face of stable or even decreasing tax valuations.

So what is the answer? There is only one -- a county government that is
willing to control spending and reduce tax rates. Our current situation can
only be resolved by an electorate that is aware of the problem. Voters must
demand county officials committed to efficiency and a sustainable level of
expenditures.

Martin County's increasing property values and resale volume have allowed
our government to become used to rapidly rising income without the
politically risky requirement of raising tax rates.