Tax-reduction claim was misleading

At the League of Women Voters forum recently, it was surprising to hear Mr. Barkhausen’s claim of reducing property taxes for Shields Township by 30 percent.

Hearing Mr. Barkhausen make this claim over and over, most people would assume that their property taxes had been reduced significantly. However, as was pointed out and I later verified, this reduction amounts to less than one-half of one percent (or $1.04/month) for the average taxpayer.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Barkhausen and other politicians manipulate numbers to benefit themselves while leaving most people like us in the dark. I would encourage Mr. Barkhausen to not be so disingenuous in misleading the voters for his own gain and start talking about substantive issues in the future.

Bob Mullenbach

Lake Bluff