Pond Decision
Was Reasonable

I know I felt a pang of regret about the Stevens' decision to fill in their chain of frogponds in Bethel Lympus, even though their decision does not impact me in any way.

The Stevenses were not happy about taking such a drastic step, as was made clear in the news story and also in the letter to the editor that appeared in the same edition of the Herald of Randolph. Those ponds and the creatures in them must have offered many hours of enjoyment after a hard day's work.

If birds, bears, and foxes suddenly started eating their young, everyone would be leaping to find out why. Likewise with folks like the Stevenses, making decisions right-or-wrong in response to forces beyond their control.

The fact remains that despite an apparent surplus in state coffers, and our unenviable reputation as the most-taxed state in the Union, while having precious little to show for it, the public sector seems to have an insatiable need for more and more revenues.

Assessments are related somehow to fair market value, though FMV is a bogus yardstick, since it is based solely on how far buyers from overheated economies elsewhere are willing bid up prices on property in Vermont.

The notion of assessing a couple of frog-ponds, built years ago, as some kind of recreational luxury is as ludicrous as assessing the sunset view from your house.

The valuation of the ponds is just the thin end of the wedge. Appeals are time-consuming, wearing, and often fruitless. Knowing that, it makes sense to spend a known amount of hard-earned money now to thwart a future of escalating and unpredictable property tax assessments.

Vermonters love their mountains, fields and rivers, and have been managing them—and learning from their mistakes—for around 250 years. What a shame that the environmental movement can't come up with imaginative and constructive ways to help ordinary Vermonters, instead of sneering from the sidelines.

Julia Purdy

Rochester