The truth lies in the numbers

I read in a recent Amherst Bee that residents are questioning their 2007 tax bills. It is not surprising when some of the numbers don't agree with promises and statements made to the papers.

The tax rate for the general town tax has gone up, not down. The 2006 tax rate was 3.721892, and the 2007 tax rate is 4.150047. This is an 11.5 percent increase. I am not even touching the assessment increases. That is another mess that I intend to address separately at another time.

We have, time and time again, been told that higher assessments don't mean higher taxes because the tax rates may go down. This is a pipe dream, to say it politely. The facts are that over the five years I have looked at, from 2003 to 2007 inclusive, the general town levy has gone up every year, from $20,958,412 in 2003 to $29,203,525, which is a 39.3 percent increase. The tax rates have also gone up each year except one.

We demand truth and accountability from the federal government, from the state government and we now demand it from our local government.

Aage Pettersen MacArthur Drive

Amherst