Well, it’s that time of year.  The turkey is in the oven, the cranberry sauce is simmering, family and friends are in from out-of-town and… the property tax bill is due. Yep, it’s that time of year. Just when you are to celebrate thankfulness, that infamous, unwelcome bill from your local jurisdiction comes to mind. What better way to taint the occasion than the thought of having to pay your property tax bill.

There are many other things that you may be thankful for this Thanksgiving season; your health, your family, your friends, your job, the feast on your table, etc. but I’ll bet (and I’m taking a guess here) that one thing you may not be thankful for is your property tax bill. It’s there, waiting to make a dent in your accounts, and possibly chip away at your dreams of an in-ground pool come springtime (Clark Griswold immediately comes to mind…)  In our society, paying property taxes is not viewed as a positive expenditure – certainly not helped by over-assessments or mismanagement of budgets…. Even in the ‘A Tax to Grind’ community we take sarcastic tones and jabs at the aspects of property taxes.

This Thanksgiving, I want to be thankful for property taxes. There, I said it: Thankful for property taxes. I think it takes stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, looking at why we have property taxes. Property taxes fund the firefighters and their fire trucks, the roads we drive on, our children’s teachers and their classrooms, the police officers, the beautiful public parks we enjoy, and so much more! I’m going to guess that we are all thankful for these. As frustrating as the administration of property taxes may be, it is possible to be thankful for them and the services they provide this Thanksgiving.