Please click here to read this letter on the Eldersburg Eagle web site.

I want to thank senators Larry Haines and Allan Kittleman, and delegates Tanya Shewell and Nancy Stocksdale, for voting against the transfer tax for Carroll County.

We are finally hearing voices from our legislators and the taxpayers of Carroll County saying "enough is enough!"

I don't have to remind anyone who owns a home how much their property taxes have gone up. In addition, the county has raised income tax rates, impact fees and recordation taxes.

As Sen. Kittleman said last week at the Freedom Area Citizens Council meeting, we still have not seen the benefits of these increases.

I am encouraged to finally hear that there are those taxpayers among us who are asking how the county income is being effectively spent.

Notice I said "effectively."

All I hear from the commissioners is that there is not enough money coming in to fund all the "needs" of the county.

Our commissioners were elected to manage growth, provide an adequate water supply in the Freedom district, fund our schools, etc. I don't remember any one of them running on a platform that said "we want to raise your taxes" and grow government.

And yet, that is exactly what they have done.

Now they are crying that they couldn't push through another tax, the transfer tax. I have heard them referred to as "tax and spend" commissioners. That's rather ironic, because I usually hear those terms used to describe Democrats.

I contacted one of our commissioners some time ago and questioned what was being done to streamline our county government and reduce its operating costs.

I was told that the county was running its expenditures in an efficient manner, and that it had to meet the needs of residents.

I was told, "trust me."

But whenever a government official says "trust me," a red flag goes up in my mind.

When I questioned specific fiscal concerns, I was told the commissioner didn't believe in "micro-managing" the government. I was even told that government cannot be run like a business, or like you and I would manage our own budgets! Ê

All this says to me is that the commissioners are not willing, or capable, of taking a hard-nosed approach to control the expenditures of our county government.

ÊIt's refreshing that there are those who would question the philosophy of tax-and-spend that our commissioners are practicing.

We need a fiscal plan for generating more revenue from commercial enterprises, and a plan for reducing or deferring expenditures for pet projects within the county.

It's as simple as that, if there isn't enough revenue coming in, then there can be no more expenditures going out.

Even though the county has benefited from some $12.5 million worth of additional revenue, they are still saying that is not enough to cover programs that are needed.

I ask, when is there ever going to be "enough" money?

I am glad to hear from our legislators that we need to look at where our tax money is going. < p> This is the hard part of governing. The ball is in the commissioners' court to show that they can do exactly that, before they begin to request any additional taxes.

Russ Weber

Eldersburg

Teens' lobby can't compete with phone company bucks

I see that the General Assembly may pass laws to restrict teen driving. Actually, legislators should be banning the use of cell phones and computers when driving.

Those actions are more dangerous than teenagers driving.

But our legislators will not stop taking the big money from the phone companies. So we will have to put up with it no matter how dangerous it is.

If teenagers could line legislators' campaigns with money, they would not have to worry.