SR Edit: Rankin Deserves Credit for Tax Reform
Somewhere, Ron Rankin is smiling. Rankin didn't live to see property tax reform take hold in Idaho. But he helped establish the anti-tax climate that kept the pressure on politicians to do something. In the late 1970s, he pushed the One Percent Initiative that was approved by voters and then neutered by legislators. In the 1990s, his attempts to resurrect the One Percent Initiative and a third-party run for governor prompted Gov. Phil Batt to ease the burden on property tax payers – somewhat. Gov. Jim Risch finished the job in August by calling a special session of the Idaho Legislature to reform property tax. The fruit of Rankin's crusade was harvested this week in Kootenai County when Assessor Mike McDowell and Treasurer Tom Malzahn announced that property taxes would fall significantly this year despite rapidly increasing values. They credited several factors for the amazing news, including, most importantly, the vote by the 2006 Idaho Legislature to shift funding for school maintenance and operations from the property tax to the sales tax. Also important, they said, was the fiscal restraint by local taxing districts and the additional tax revenue provided by new construction. For the rest of my editorial about property tax reform, click here.
DFO: I gotta kick outta good friend John Rook's comment over the weekend re: the SR treating Ron Rankin roughly in days gone by -- mainly, I suppose, because I knew the edit was in the pipeline. Also, I knew that I personally have written several editorials applauding the late Ronfather's exploits. I rapped him on the knuckles occasionally. For example, I disagreed with him about English only. (And still would, if he were alive.) I appreciated the fact that he embraced the use of pay-as-you-go capital facilities levies to construct new school buildings. That showed he wasn't blind to the need. But opposed the use of interest-bearing bonds to get the job done. You don't have to always agree with someone to appreciate him. Or miss him. Indeed, I miss the phone call in the morning and the inevitable one-liner from The Ronfather that brought a smile.
