November 2 – “Taxes”

 

 

Our property tax statement came in the mail yesterday.  It is amazing how quickly property values rose after dropping to near nothing after Hurricane Ike.  Right after the storm taxes were cut exactly in half.  The powers that be weren't equipped to come around and re-inspect every property, so I'm sure that was an arbitrary decision.  This year, though, they are firmly entrenched back at the level they were before then.  Actually, I think they are a bit higher.  I guess they figure we are so happy to have these grand new homes that we don't mind paying a few more dollars a year for the privilege.

 

They did give us a chance to split it up into payments.  For years we were allowed to pay it out over four payments.  That suddenly stopped, however, and we had to send in the total amount in one chunk.  Definitely caused January to be a tight month financially for us. That was also the month when all our insurances were due.  But now they have succumbed to public pressure (or maybe they have built up their reserves enough).  We now can pay the bill in two parts.  Instead of the total being due in January, half of it is due in November.  Then the rest is not due until the end of June.  Now that's a helpful split.  Of course it means we have to come up with almost six hundred dollars here in a few weeks. 

 

Oh, I forgot to mention one other thing.  Galveston College has elected not to be a part of the program.  They opted out of being good guys.  So now we have to send them what they get all in one payment, due by the end of January.  It's not all that much, but it sure makes the tax paying process more inconvenient.  Now I have to remember to send in a check in November, January and June. 

 

Confusing, but I think I have it down.  Ah, for the days when taxes were all included in the escrow deposit of the mortgage, and we only had one entity to complain about when the house payment went up.

 

Proverbs 30:32-33 says, "If you have played the fool and exalted yourself, or if you have planned evil, clap your hand over your mouth!  For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife."

 

Father, thank you for the reassuring thought that it's actually you who owns everything.  Amen.