Mayor’s Move Taxes Logic
It’s hard to say which is zanier: Wallace Mayor Debbie Mikesell trying to hold on to her elected post after she moved to nearby Silverton or city attorney Hollis Anderson giving her the go-ahead to remain in office. In Anderson’s version of the law, Mikesell remains a Wallace resident because she operates a Wallace business, gets her mail in town and registered her vehicle there. That loose definition of residency certainly would swell the number of urban residents everywhere - if it were widely accepted. But there’s one very important thing that Mikesell doesn’t do that should disqualify her from the Wallace mayor’s job: She isn’t subject to the same property taxes levied by the Wallace City Council against homeowners. A philosophy of “do as I say and not as I do” invites criticism. Unfortunately, state law is vague about this issue. Common sense, however, dictates that Mikesell choose between home and position.
Can’t anyone govern Spirit Lake?
Spirit Lake, the Little Town That Couldn’t, took another turn for the worse Tuesday night when three City Council members quit. That followed a showdown between Mayor Bob Knapp and political foes. Knapp was angry that his opponents had photographed cars parked outside his home because they feared he was conducting an illegal meeting with two council members. The presence of controversial ex-Police Chief Steve Durkin at the meeting inflamed those fears. Afterward, the mayor defended himself: “Can’t I have a friend over?” Well, yes. But common sense would dictate that the mayor should avoid all appearances of shenanigans after firing Durkin’s successor last month. Of course, common sense has been lacking in Spirit Lake politics for some time.
Klatchers give department their 2 cents’ worth
My Grumpy Old Men coffee klatch (which is made up of real people, unlike a group conjured up by a former Coeur d’Alene Press editor a few years ago) doesn’t like Gov. Phil Batt’s proposed 4-cent hike in the gasoline tax. It sympathizes with Batt’s need to raise revenue to upgrade the state’s failing highway system. But the group, to a man (the only woman didn’t show up this week), doesn’t want to turn the money over to the Idaho Transportation Department. The coffee klatchers are afraid the department will waste it. They cited the ongoing U.S. Highway 95 fiasco in Bonner County that destroyed a wetland and the Interstate 90 project several years ago that caved into Lake Coeur d’Alene, burying spawning beds and two pieces of heavy equipment. At most, the klatchers are willing to risk 2 extra cents per gallon to see if the department can be trusted again.
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