Essential Workers?

[ultrarunner]

Seems all county offices and most city remain closed for in person due to Covid

Mom did not receive property tax bill for the parcel she has had her garden on for over 50 years.

Tried to reach Tax Collector and each time after being on hold for as long as 17 minutes recording said call back later and disconnect.

Nothing can be done in person and cash no longer can be used to pay taxes and fees

Official Online has all owner info deleted so no idea if title issue or check for fraud/mistake

I work in a hospital and continued working as did police, fire, grocery stores, utility workers etc...

It looks like city and county will be the last to open if ever... but fees still due and registrations...

To continue... called County Supervisor and he was able to generate a return call and ecstatic to learn NO property tax due!

A resolution passed to exempt undeveloped property with extremely low value which had been a pet peeve of mine.

Christmas definitely came early.

Mom's garden is assessed at $1267 with straight property tax due of about $17.40...

Here is the kicker... while property tax is $17.40 the added 27 special assessments added $1,109 to the tax bill making the total $1,127.

Yes the annual property tax due was nearly equally to the property value...

Midnight Basketball... library, school, sports stadiums, bus lines, hiking trails, city landscape, mosquito control, rapid transit, etc...

Sometimes out of the blue miracles happen...

The news made me almost forget the frustration of a week trying to reach some one...

 

[kenmac]

WOW ! Hard to believe the tax you guys pay.

I don't complain when I get the property tax notice at my river property.
It's assessed around 42K and the tax is $24.00 per yr

My home about 50acres @ 500K+ is around $1300 per yr

Everything in my area is open for business. In fact, They never closed down

 

[ultrarunner]

Kind of amazing just how things vary depending on where you are...

 

[mikester]

Covid seems to be a two year "Covid holiday" for some government workers who aren't required to do their jobs in any sort of timely fashion while they still collect full pay and benefits.

 

[KennyG]

Most government workers are only essential because they were able to make themselves essential.

 

[jyoutz]

Covid seems to be a two year "Covid holiday" for some government workers who aren't required to do their jobs in any sort of timely fashion while they still collect full pay and benefits.

Your ignorance is appalling

 

[Oaktree]

Your ignorance is appalling

I'm sure the poster you were replying to was just being sarcastic, but sometimes it does seem to be as he described. City/state/federal workers often give the impression that they just don't care about the people whose job it is to serve and who pay their salaries.
I just shake my head at some of the stories Ultrarunner tells, if all is as he reports it sounds more like something you'd experience in a third world country than the U.S.

 

[ultrarunner]

I believe city and county services will be the last to open...

Everything else not government is open and many never closed like grocery, hospitals, hardware, banks, etc.

A sizable group still pays taxes at the counter with a stamped receipt...

Cash is still not accepted for these government debt and credit cards have a 2% convenience fee.

Annually the Air District would arrive to inspect the hospital generator... It's two two years now and no field inspection but fees are due for annual inspection.

Same for code compliance and low income housing inspection...

Again, my experience is limited to SF Bay Area... which is just a dot on the map...

 

[Jchonline]

Your ignorance is appalling

Enlighten us please.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have a 10 acre undeveloped piece of property where i grow grass for the horses to graze. Its ag property worth maybe 300k . Taxed about $80 per year.

 

[two_bit_score]

I believe city and county services will be the last to open...

Everything else not government is open and many never closed like grocery, hospitals, hardware, banks, etc.

A sizable group still pays taxes at the counter with a stamped receipt...

Cash is still not accepted for these government debt and credit cards have a 2% convenience fee.

Annually the Air District would arrive to inspect the hospital generator... It's two two years now and no field inspection but fees are due for annual inspection.

Same for code compliance and low income housing inspection...

Again, my experience is limited to SF Bay Area... which is just a dot on the map...

I was in court at a county on the Texas Gulf Coast this week and their county government never closed any office during Covid. According to the District Court Administrator you couldn’t tell anything was ever shut down.

In Travis County (Austin) the county government was more like you describe in the Bay Area. They shut down at the first opportunity and have resisted RE-opening as much as possible.

To me, the Travis County bureaucrats have proved to people that they are really not needed as much as they think they are.

 

[jyoutz]

Enlighten us please.

I am a forester working for the US Forest Service. Every day my co-workers and I put in long days, often in the field doing physical activities or long office hours. We don’t get paid overtime; we just do what is needed to finish the job. Most federal employees are the same. Many of the people posting here seem to have no idea what the typical civil service employee does, and seem to think that we drink coffee all day.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I am a forester working for the US Forest Service. Every day my co-workers and I put in long days, often in the field doing physical activities or long office hours. We don’t get paid overtime; we just do what is needed to finish the job. Most federal employees are the same. Many of the people posting here seem to have no idea what the typical civil service employee does, and seem to think that we drink coffee all day.

for some government workers who aren't required to do their jobs in any sort of timely fashion

Then obviously who mikster was talking about isn't you, is it? There are a lot more 'government workers' who do actually sit around in an office sipping coffee all day than there are Forestry workers out in the field...

 

[jyoutz]

Then obviously who mikster was talking about isn't you, is it? There are a lot more 'government workers' who do actually sit around in an office sipping coffee all day than there are Forestry workers out in the field...

Most federal employees who I work with who are in the office are busy all day, not just sitting around drinking coffee. Retirements and budget cuts have resulted in short staffing government wide. Now about those people at state MVD departments….

 

[Jstpssng]

I worked full time all through the shutdown... my state just borrowed 14.9 million dollars to give me and others who did the same a "bonus". Today I received a $285 check... am still scratching my head trying to figure out why.

My first instinct is to toss the check in the woodstove but I will probably give most of it to local food pantries. For some reason this old song by Dick Curless has been stuck in my head...

 

[two_bit_score]

I am a forester working for the US Forest Service. Every day my co-workers and I put in long days, often in the field doing physical activities or long office hours. We don’t get paid overtime; we just do what is needed to finish the job. Most federal employees are the same. Many of the people posting here seem to have no idea what the typical civil service employee does, and seem to think that we drink coffee all day.

There are probably 10 bureaucrats in the regional office and above sitting around to every one of the hard workers in the field.

 

[Midniteoyl]

but I will probably give most of it to local food pantrie

This is a great idea.. I know it would be greatly appreciated around the holidays.

 

[two_bit_score]

I worked full time all through the shutdown... my state just borrowed 14.9 million dollars to give me and others who did the same a "bonus". Today I received a $285 check... am still scratching my head trying to figure out why.

My first instinct is to toss the check in the woodstove but I will probably give most of it to local food pantries. For some reason this old song by Dick Curless has been stuck in my head...

The guys From the regional and state office sitting at home watching a few zoom meetings a week probably received checks with several more zeroes on them.

 

[jyoutz]

There are probably 10 bureaucrats in the regional office and above sitting around to every one of the hard workers in the field.

I work in the Regional office. Our director frequently is dealing with budget, management meetings and calls late into the evenings, often from home. Things are busy. We have millions of acres that we manage and lots of publics to serve.

 

[Jstpssng]

I work in the Regional office. Our director frequently is dealing with budget, management meetings and calls late into the evenings, often from home. Things are busy. We have millions of acres that we manage and lots of publics to serve.

Come on, stop trying to ruin a perfectly good stereotype.

What always gets me is how many people feel that public employees should be treated like servants; then don't understand when they develop an attitude.