Six years can go by before property taxes on new development are available to the county for infrastructure (roads, schools, public safety). In the meantime established taxpayers subsidize the new houses. This isn't fair. Part of the solution is impact fees. County commissioners can require developers who cause the need for expanded services to pay the costs associated with their business. That is how your elected leaders should be protecting you and the community!

We cannot continue to put all our eggs in one basket. Depending entirely on real estate speculation and frenzied growth ensures a continued boom and bust economy. Ravalli County has struggled with that long enough. Small business owners are the backbone of our local economy and deserve our support. County government can encourage a healthy economic environment based on fair trade, where large and small businesses co-exist to the benefit of the community.

Everyone should have a place at the table when we decide how best to direct our valley toward prosperity. Our recent county commissioners' habit of promoting the wants of a few over the needs of the rest of us compromises our long-term quality of life. You deserve leaders who make fair and balanced decisions, leaders who will always strive to do what is best for the citizens of our valley as a whole.

What happens next door affects your private property rights. No one likes ugly surprises. Up and down the valley, folks are drilling deeper wells as water tables plunge. Roads are being used by more people. Increased use incurs increased costs for maintenance. Without road improvements, deaths and injuries increase. The farm next door now has 100 homes instead of 100 cows. All this affects the property value and aesthetics of your place. Ranchers hear complaints from the new subdivision next door about smells and noises. Industrial businesses are allowed to operate next to residential homes. The list goes on. We face these negative impacts due to unplanned, unregulated growth. It creates tensions between neighbors and fractures our community. Land values go up when surprises like a motorcycle track outside our kitchen window are eliminated. For most of us, our property and home are our most valuable investment. Reasonable zoning, building regulations, and planning are the tools we need to give folks assurance that this investment will not be devalued by unplanned, unexpected development.