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Letters to the Editor Policy

Just An Excuse

About a year ago I attended the Susquehanna County Commissioners meeting to learn that the 2004 budget was reopened due to inadequate funding by the previous commissioners. One item in particular was the fact that the County Office building was in dire need of a new roof. We were told that the roof has been leaking for several years and nothing was done.

Today when I attended the commissioners meeting we were given a preview of the 2005 budget. The tax rate is expected to increase 2.5 mils, which means a 24 to 28% tax increase. There are approximately 187 permanent employees. I just received my local weekly newspaper that carried a headline “Mandates are Pushing Taxes Up”. Now my fellow citizens, the true mandates that you and I have are: increased cost for health Insurance, increased gasoline costs, increased home heating costs, and lower prices for farm products. (We don’t have the luxury of increasing taxes.)

Like many of you, my Social Security increase for 2005 is 2.7%. I’ve not had a retirement increase in 14 + years. (Most county employees receive 4% increases.)

We were told that the county employment was about the same as last year. However, there are now two highly paid individuals in the assessment office, same situation in the 911 center, a timekeeper was replaced by a personnel director, and a high level position was created in maintenance.

The roof problem from last year still exists. How many years can you have a very leaky roof without serious damage to structure and insulation?

Maybe the county wants to get in the Guinness Book for being the last remaining organization that provides fully funded health insurance. It costs taxpayers over $1000 every month for each of the 187 employees.

Remember that these are the people that you elected just a short time ago to properly manage the county and your tax dollars. As taxpayers, I’m sure that you agree we deserve better. I don’t accept the logic that the tax increase was higher in a neighboring county. We all need to voice our opinion that we are not going to take this.

The best excuse in the world for higher taxes is still just an excuse.

Sincerely,

Tom Jurista

Silver Lake Twp.

About Those Cats

In regards to the so-called businessman who couldn’t even sign his name and was complaining about the cats.

First, if it wasn’t for people dumping unwanted animals there wouldn’t be a problem.

Second, they need to prosecute people that do, to the fullest extent.

It’s obvious that this man has no compassion for these poor, suffering animals. If he is a businessman, why doesn’t he take some of his money and rescue, spay and neuter these cats and find them a home.

Sincerely,

Debra Carroll

New Milford, PA

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
Letters To The Editor MUST BE SIGNED. They MUST INCLUDE a phone number for "daytime" contact. Letters MUST BE CONFIRMED VERBALLY with the author, before printing. At that time you may request to withhold your name. Letters should be as concise as possible, to keep both Readers' and Editors' interest alike. Your opinions are important to us, but you must follow these guidelines to help assure their publishing.

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