Harris pledges to watch bottom line

Though there are many challenges the Linn County Board of Supervisors will face in the coming four years, I believe the most significant are property tax assessment procedures, mental health delivery, and infrastructure funding.

This has been a frustrating year for property tax assessments and billings. Despite a 6.5 percent drop in the Linn County Property tax rate for unincorporated areas of Linn County, many found their tax assessments increased. The increase in property tax was due to an increase in property values.

Last year, new property assessments were performed for the first time in 20 years. Though it is necessary to periodically reassess property values in the county, the way this was accomplished cannot happen again. I will work to persuade the Board of Supervisors to demand the county assessor perform property assessments every six years. We must also keep our tax levy rate manageable to ensure that residents and businesses in Linn County can afford to live and work in our county.

We are seeing changing federal and state regulations governing how we deliver mental health services. These changes are affecting programs like Options of Linn County and the Abbe Center.

I believe the goals of transition are noble, providing additional choice for populations served by our system. This transition has not been easy or without some controversy. I remain committed to ensuring it is accomplished as smoothly as possible. There are still many challenges regarding service delivery and I will continue to champion our effort to persuade our state and federal lawmakers to review legislation and regulations for these programs and carefully consider funding levels.

Another significant challenge is maintenance and improvement of our roads. Local governments are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain and upgrade roads and bridges in the face of declining resources. This will force us to be more aggressive in seeking additional funding and better managers of the resources we do have.

Serving the people of Linn County has been a privilege. I believe I have been a good steward of the county's budget as well as the public trust. Open and transparent county government have been my primary goals. Though I believe we have accomplished much, there still is much to do. I would appreciate your consideration on November 4th.

' John Harris is a Republican candidate for the Linn County Board of Supervisors, District 5. Comments: jharrisp@juno.com