Cattleman Merle Schlehuber paid his property taxes under protest because of the condition of county roads running by his land.
So did Chasen Gann and James Enns. All told, county appraiser Lisa Reeder said Monday, annual property taxes on 37 parcels are scheduled for tax protests because of the conditions of county roads.
Their exact reasons are unclear, as are the prospects for successfully protesting their taxes due. Clearly, there is dissatisfaction with county roads. At Monday’s county commission meeting, rural Marion resident Chuck Seifert gave commissioners a piece of his mind about consultant fees about road and other projects.
Seifert said he’d reviewed records of what the county spent for project engineers over the last year and that the county should hire its own engineer.
“You’re paying out way too much on consulting fees,” Seifert said. “Get an in-house engineer and you can save that.”
(Read more: HILLSBORO Star-Journal)