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It’s trick or treat time from WCIND’s Board

2 min read

To the editor:

Here it is property tax time for the four counties that make up the West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND). WCIND has got its hand in your wallet again.

This is the organization charged with dredging our waterways but instead funds four counties’ projects unrelated to dredging.

WCIND says it needs to raise our taxes 5.9 percent this year, which will bring in about $6 million dollars, but the trick is these folks already have $20 plus million in hand and when it gets the tax money it is requesting will hit $26 million plus in cash.

So why does WCIND need all this money? Well, the reason is that WCIND is used as a personal piggy bank by the four counties that make up the district. Each county wants to ear mark more money for their piggy bank and thus wants to raise your taxes.

Lee County taxes bring in about $2.7 million and has ear marked $1.9 million in their piggy bank on items that they want to spend on things that they can’t spend through their own county budgets, because these items would never pass the scrutiny of the taxpayers. Matter of fact, they won’t even pass state statutes, but it matters not when these items never hit the papers to be discussed. The sad part is none of these funds are ear marked for dredging waterways.

The trick is they can raise your taxes and bring home the treats and they are happy because they can spend taxpayers’ money on things outside the county budget and other taxpayers’ eyes.

Enjoy your trick and your treats given to you by our Commissioner Kiker, who is our elected member of WCIND. And enjoy seeing $26 million of your money spent on things you won’t know about.

Leo Amos

Matlacha