Dear Editor:
Brown County residents can anticipate being asked to vote for annexation into the existing Ranger Junior College taxing district which will result in much higher property taxes thanks to the passage of HB 3332, and Ranger Junior College regents impose a tax rate of $0.24 per $100 property valuation within their current taxing district.
Authored by our State Representative, Jim Keffer, and sponsored by our State Senator, Troy Fraser, HB 3332 is very specific in that it only pertains to Brown County. Written and passed into law during this year’s 83rd legislature, this legislation cleared away all existing legal obstacles that were preventing Ranger Junior College regents from attempting to land grab Brown County into their taxing authority.
If you are a Brown County resident, are you surprised that you haven’t ever heard about this legislation? I certainly was whenever I recently uncovered it. I can only assume that the proponents of this legislation must have known that there would have been a great deal of unfavorable backlash from the Brown County taxpayers had it been widely publicized and debated prior to being enacted into law.
Our elected state representatives owe the Brown County citizens an explanation.
Sincerely,
Barry Carter
