note: see the Oshkosh Northwestern response to Mr. Rylance's piece
BY DAN RYLANCE
December 27, 2002
Between the torn packages, ripped ribbons and last minute Christmas shopping
came an unexpected surprise this year. Property taxes for Oshkosh property owners
went down in 2002. No not Winnebago County property taxes promised by Calamity
Jane. No not Oshkosh City property taxes, either. Would you believe Oshkosh
School District property taxes? Yep, down 5.1% in 2002. Surprise? Yes!
The unexpected small but appreciated present from Santa Claus raises more questions
than answers.
The first question is why? Why did School District property taxes go down in
2002?
The second question is why did they go down when the School District is digging
deeper into its coffers to address a deficit?
The third question is why didn't anyone at the Oshkosh Northwestern
mention this unexpected tax decrease in either news or editorial comment?
Answers to the third question, of course, would have provided
answers to the first and second question. Here are some possibilities to why
the Northwestern ignored the lower tax increase from the Oshkosh School
District.
| A. There was no way to connect Laurie Mosher to the story. B. After the stupid editorial on food costs at the School District, no one on the editorial board wanted to crunch numbers again. C. Stew Rieckman thought the minus on his property tax bill was an error and probably a violation of the state's open records law. D. No one at the Northwestern wants to give Supt. Ron Heilmann or the School Board credit for anything so they don't E. No one who works at the Northwestern pays property taxes. |
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone who reads this web site. As
for answers to the above call Rieckman, the editor, and ask him which is the
correct answer. His number is 426-6691 There is one clue, however, there may
be more than one correct answer.
Rylance is a former editorial writer for Knight Ridder newspapers who now resides in Oshkosh and is a frequent contributor to this web site.