Readers respond: Predatory penalties shame local governments

By

Kudos to columnist Steve Duin and reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh for calling out the city of Portland, Multnomah County and Metro for the predatory practice of assessing excessive penalties and interest on Supportive Housing Services and Preschool for All taxes for which no notification had been previously provided, (“Portland area preschool taxes and predatory tactics: Steve Duin column,” Feb. 4 and “Thousands of high-income households failed to pay Portland area taxes to fund homeless services, preschool,” Feb. 1).

The county’s response as to why there was no reminder to those possibly affected was lazy, callous and dismissive. Now, let’s see an accounting of the $116 million amassed for the 680 preschool slots which, as you describe, pencils out to $170,500 for each slot. These issues firmly contribute to the poor image problem of our local government agencies.

Jim Krippaehne, Portland

To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

X

Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information

If you opt out, we won’t sell or share your personal information to inform the ads you see. You may still see interest-based ads if your information is sold or shared by other companies or was sold or shared previously.