Part 2 Why We Feel Let Down By Our Elected Leaders (cont'd: "Personality" is Not a Policy)

Is the world upside down?

Sometimes it feels that way.

Whether it's national or local politics, people focus on how much they like a person (or not) -- as opposed to the policy that person espouses. It's this intentional effort of focusing on personality (whether we think somebody is good or bad) that leads us to become disenchanted with the political process. It shouldn't be this way, and we can fix it easily.

In part 1 I discussed how we are susceptible to emotional manipulation and what can be done to overcome it. We also looked at how to find the right person for the elected office by focusing on an outcome and what policies are needed to get us there.

Imagine if every elected official in the county focused on achieving the same desired outcome YOU want? It can happen if you want it to.

In an effort to start this conversation, I've put together a list of policies (in order of priority) that I believe represent conservative values and the goals people generally agree they'd like to see:

1) Responsibly Managing Growth -- I made this number one for the simple reason that this is what people tell me they want and if we don't start getting serious about how growth is affecting our community today, many people will be taxed out of their homes before we know it. People must understand that growth does not pay for itself in the state of Idaho. You -- the person living here today -- will pay for it.

Let me repeat that: Growth does not pay for itself. Instead, you pay for it.

For those of you who just want "limited government", the single biggest driver of government growth is population growth. It's impossible to have small government while simultaneously having pro-growth policies.

It's also impossible to have fewer rules when more people live in a confined space. DENSITY LEADS TO LIBERAL POLICIES and MORE LAWS.

That's right. There is no such thing as a "conservative" city. Even Boise (in one of the most conservative states in the union) is one of the most liberal cities in the entire region.

So What Policies are Needed to Slow Growth?

The first is we need to revise our Impact Fee statute. If you've ever read it (click here), you might get the sense it was written by developers for the benefit of developers. Sadly, it is largely worthless against shifting the cost of new growth onto the new taxpayers who move here. The cost will always be borne by you -- the existing taxpayers -- so more people can move here (Click Here to see my earlier writings about this). The good news is I'm working with one of our local legislators to amend this statute so that counties can more easily capture this fee for courthouses and jails.

The second way to address growth is by frequently updating our long-term comprehensive planning process. A well-crafted Comprehensive Plan will take into consideration what the community wants and layout zoning and allowable growth projects that meet the community's desire.

The One Thing the County Does Not Have That It Should 

It also can be used to establish county service levels. That's right, we do not have established service levels for county services.

Once a service-level range is established, ordinance can be drafted to allow the Planning Department to actually say no to additional growth if new development stretches service levels outside of acceptable ranges. We can even make the developers pay for their studies. But it doesn't end there.

The cities play a big role in growth. In fact, most of the growth in our area is driven largely by the cities. One of my projects working with our Community Development Director is to get the cities to buy into linking our Comprehensive Plan with theirs. The good news is we've started that process.

This is an excellent first step toward having a unified long-term plan, so we can start looking at what our community (cities and county) will look like in a decade or two. This is an important step in achieving responsible growth management, but it can only succeed with elected officials committed to this like-minded policy platform.

If You Like Liberal Policies, Then Skip This Section

Another reason we need to start thinking about how growth will affect this community is because (like I mentioned above) density leads to more liberal policies. If that doesn't bother you, then you can stop reading here.

However, if you want to keep Kootenai County conservative, then you should want elected officials who actually have policies that conserve it. We can do that by seeking out and supporting candidates with like-minded policy initiatives.

You can already see the disconnect between the cities' policies in Kootenai County compared with the county elected officials' policies. The cities tend to be much less conservative than the county when it comes to government programs and taxes. Strangely, this is not unusual because as we live in denser areas, more services are needed like health and safety, which are often quite expensive.

As more people move here, we will be forced to have more rules and pay significantly more taxes.

This is what density leads to. There is no such thing as a low-tax, conservative major city in this country. If you know of one, please tell me.

Even Los Angeles was once a conservative county. But at 8 million people today it will never be conservative again. Who wants Kootenai County to have the same liberal policies as the counties where Seattle, Portland or Los Angeles reside?

If you don't, then you should want to support candidates with a similar responsible growth policy platform. Not only will it keep the quality of life high, but your checking account will also thank you with a lower tax bill.

In Part 3 I will discuss how public safety will demand more from you in taxes at a greater rate than growth. There's no way around it. The county (and even the state of Idaho) need to take a hard look at existing growth policies. The good news is that our legislature has put into place some mechanisms that are already starting to put some strain on growth, which I will discuss later. To be continued.

NOTE: Please share the link to this story (and others) with neighbors and friends. If they've ever wondered why growth continues to happen unabated and taxes are constantly rising, these articles are a good way for them to better understand why.

If you want to see me complete this important work at the county (and produce more of these articles), please consider contributing by clicking the "CONTRIBUTE" button on my website. By contributing to my re-election campaign you are making an investment in your community. The total allowable to contribute is $1,000 per individual or business, $2,000 per couple.

Not only is it greatly appreciated, but it will help me to continue getting the word out to a larger audience on how we can preserve a more rural, lower tax community and state. Many of us have left places we once called home but are unrecognizable today. Let's keep that from happening here. Thank you for being a dedicated supporter.