Perpetual Funding
My idea would be to run the county finances a little more like a large profitable university, or even like a personal retirement fund. Many universities have a fund, generally called an endowment fund, which produces interest that the university uses to perform various functions. The principle in the endowment fund is never spent, and it continually grows, while some of the interest is “harvested” each year. In a private retirement fund, the citizen works hard to build up enough principle, so they can live comfortably on just the interest.
My goal is to build a similar fund for Elko County. This fund can be built by selling property tax exemptions. For the price of somewhere around 15x current tax bill, a person will be able to buy a tax exemption that is valid for as long as he/she owns the property, and improvements aren’t significantly altered. If the land sells, or passes to family, the next owner will have the option to also purchase a tax exemption, but for only 7x current tax bill. Of course, the property owner can still pay tax annually if they prefer. This system will fund county operations, and build wealth that can be used for county improvements.
There may be quite a few particulars that need to be “ironed out” with this plan, but I believe it can work, will end Elko’s financial struggles, and may be a pattern for other counties across America to follow.
For peaceful, prosperous, liberty,
Brian D. Gale