Valley View Home - Letter to the Editor

I must join with Mr. Toews and Mr. Reinhardt in dissent of the permanent levy to save Valley View. I am hesitant to be critical of board decisions in most cases. However, the idea of a permanent tax to support the facility is unacceptable for me. Members of the task force certainly understand, as most of us do, that when an activity is subsidized, (as with wheat production) you get more of it. In other words, once property taxpayers are compelled to assist the facility, the escalation in need will not only never end, it will only increase over time. My trusted information source in regard to elderly care facility matters, told me that profit and loss margins in the facility she was employed in, were determined by the last ten percent of occupancy. Her advice is to “manage your way through it.” Tax money may remove the incentive to be prudent and efficient. If the hospital itself falls on hard times, is it next in line?

Make no mistake, when the contact number for the task force is the marketing department of the hospital, it cannot be argued that they do not have a vested and vital interest in this matter. I have not seen or read the by-laws proposed for this new venture nor have I been made aware of the oversight board’s actual responsibilities and authority. Based on the recent unsuccessful history of the entity, I would need some form of confirmation that the organization is properly structured. There must be a sunset provision in the levy in order to promote success and not permanently reward mediocrity. If I am forced to be a partner in the venture by popular vote, some exceptions must be met and all possible options have to be considered in order to gain my support.

Property taxes have taken a large jump this cycle already. How many times can we go back to the well? It is easy for the city voter to impose another tax burden on the rural producer. The best tax is the one paid by someone else. Let me give an example. The property taxpayers of eastern Montana send 40 mills worth of taxes per year to the State that are utilized by the schools of western Montana under the guide of School Equalization. I was informed that Missoula just passed a 24 million dollar tax levy for recreation and park improvements alone. Basically they are building a huge sports complex. They do not need, nor do they deserve, our money for their schools. We need to get our money back to take care of our own, a process that will take time, political, and possibly legal, effort. A local sales tax could be considered with a change in the law. In addition, there may be need for updated claw-back provisions in state law to keep persons-that can afford it, from transferring their assets to avoid paying for care themselves as opposed to transferring the cost to property taxpayers. Again, these options take time and effort. A permanent levy is not the only option available."

-Scott E. Cassel