Reported by Kirk Chandler
Today was a busy day for the commissioners. Tom and Cecila Hunter, and Laura and Mike Demaray from Cambridge came in to talk to the commissioners about the way the county does assessment work. They both feel that their property rights were violated by the accessors office this last fall. They expressed a desire to have been contacted and told the accessors office was coming to their property, but were not. They found out when they observed them walking around their houses after going pass a No Trespassing signs and climbing over their fence.
Laura also brought up the concern of surveillance of the citizen’s property with drones and fix wing aircraft. The county has been contacted twice about contracting the services of a company that flies a grid of the county and makes the pictures available to the county. They give a surrounding view of everything on your property. The supposed benefit to the county is, it will give the county the ability to look at your property without coming on it. The second flight gives the ability to have any changes in your property flagged, so it can be checked by the accessor’s office. It can also be used by the Fire Department, Sheriff’s Office and other County office’s, like Planning and Zoning to see what you are doing.
The question of the day is: Do you want the county spending around $40,000 dollars a year of the taxpayers money to keep track of what you are doing with your property. Laura and Mike expressed their displeasure of the idea that taxpayer money is being used to watch the citizens of the county. What do you think?
Delton Walker our Prosecuting Attorney took time to explain and give the history of the Oath of Office. It has changed a couple of times since the State of Idaho came into being in 1879. It was short, then long, over 300 words, then in 1983 to its current length of 47 words. Interesting history. Delton ended with the statement that The State of Idaho does have an Official Oath, but it really doesn’t matter what oath you take. Do you feel your elected officials should take the Official State Oath? Call them and talk to them about it.
Last, but not least was discussion about the proposed code change. County Commissioner Gordon Wilkerson brought up that during the Planning & Zoning time, that small farmers should have the same benefit of the Ag exemption as bigger farmers and ranchers. Should the amount of money you make off of your land determine whether you are a farmer under county code? Lance Hoch visited with the commissioners at 1:00pm about our God given rights under the Constitution. He sited that the Founding Fathers like John Locke and others, when they stated that owning property was a God given right, one that is not granted by the State or Federal Governments. John Locke authored the phrase, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” That is in the Declaration of Independence. Government was created to preserve and protect those God given rights. Are you okay with county government telling you what rights you have and what you can do with those rights. Lance Hoch feels that the county government should protect our rights, not take them away. The commissioner room was full of people who felt the same way.
Will our elected commissioners listen to the people in the county and give us back our freedom to pursue happiness? Come to the hearing on March 6th and express your views. It will be at the Vendome at 3:00 pm. The proposed ordinance can be acquired at the planning and zoning office, in the basement of the Courthouse. What freedoms do we want as Washington County residents? Are we willing to let our government take those freedoms away?
