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I wish to respond to Mr. Dangle's March 11th letter.

When pressed with the facts, ex-president Clinton's now infamous excuse was that it depends on what your definition of "is" is.

With the same fuzzy logic when faced with the stark truth, Mr. Dangle says "Senator Allan Kittleman did indeed cast the deciding vote against the tax, as with the 3-4 vote, any member of the delegation who actually voted against the measure, could have technically swung it the other way."

Facts are facts, the delegation voted alphabetically and Delegate Stocksdale cast the 7th and deciding vote. Trying to turn that fact against Senator Kittleman is as ridiculous as it is untruthful. I think Mr. Dangle would have done better to admit this error and not try to hide behind weasel-words.

He goes on to say that it was no secret that Senator Allan Kittleman's father, Senator Robert Kittleman, had supported the transfer tax. But, no one can say with certainty how the elder Kittleman would have actually voted when the time came. It is absolutely impossible to say one way or the other, because it did not happen.

Mr. Dangle continues to defend FACC's misstatements, saying that perhaps Sen. Kittleman failed to recognize that operating budgets have no bearing on capitol budgets. Having 14 years of political experience, including many years on the Howard County Council, it is more than likely that Sen. Kittleman did recognize this, and so much more.

I wish that our county commissioners would have tried to live within our collective means. It was proper of Sen. Kittleman to suggest that they wait to see the net result of jacking up every tax they could, prior to piling a brand new tax onto the breaking backs of the homeowners of Carroll County.

While Mr. Dangle continues to claim "broad support" for the transfer tax, the opinion of 14 mind-melded FACC board members is not even close to being statistically significant within a population of over 150,000. He should call those representatives who voted against the transfer tax to find out how little support the transfer tax actually garnered.

Lastly, Mr. Dangle's letter makes fun of the fact that increased assessments might push some people out of the county. The unnecessary tax increases forced on us by the current commissioners have certainly had a negative effect on our ability to care for and protect our families. I am not pleased that my family is forced to bear the burden of their taste for wasteful spending. I'm sure their inability to rein in their spending has hurt many people other than just me. I believe I will be able to survive to the next election.