I’ve noticed people streaming to the courthouse the past few weeks to pay their real estate taxes. Others have mailed them. Thursday is the due date for the first half of 2019 taxes.

As I was preparing to pay our taxes, it struck me that government operations including county, school districts, fire districts, etc., rely on property owners for a large part of their funding. People who rent don’t pay property taxes, only property owners do.

I studied the property tax statement my husband and I received for 2019. The general fund mill levy for Centre school district, of which we are a part, remained unchanged, and the local option mill levy decreased.

But when it came to actual taxes paid, general fund revenues increased over last year by 11 percent and local option by 5.6 percent. That’s a total increase of 16.6 percent in district revenue, because of an increase in property values. Correct me if I’m wrong.

I’m thinking, instead of taking in that increased revenue, why not give property owners a break and cut their taxes? Is that a sin? Advisers tell governing bodies, you don’t want to cut anything, you might need it, and you might not be able to get it back.

Government should be serving the people, allowing them to keep as much as possible of their money, not taking as much as it can from them to build itself up.

Rowena Plett