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February 5, 2010

Our view: Keeping ban is right move for Murray

In this era of high unemployment and tight family budgets, we sympathize with people who finds themselves having to make tough financial choices.

For many, one of those choices is deciding where they can afford to live.

Can we afford a stick-built house, or should we go with a new or used mobile home, is a question that more than a few families in this area have had to answer during the last several years.

For Murray County Sole Commissioner David Ridley, it was stories from people who have had to face this reality that made his decision to continue the ban on not allowing mobile homes over five years old to be brought into the county a difficult one to make.

But as difficult as the decision was, and as much as he personally felt that the ban is a little too restrictive, in the end, he made the right decision for the entire county.

“In the best interest of Murray County, I’m going to leave the mobile home ordinance at five years,” he said Monday night in announcing his decision.

Ridley came to Monday’s meeting armed with information to buttress that decision, the most compelling of which is figures that show that stick-built homes bring in 10 times more taxes per year on average than mobile homes. He also cited a recent request for public feedback on the issue, which he said was running 70 to 30 percent in favor of keeping the five-year ban.

If Murray County is serious about following through on its recently released “Murray County Vision Plan,” the county has to find ways to upgrade its tax base and improve its housing stock.

Relaxing the ban would be a step backwards, not forwards.

Ridley acknowledged that county residents could try to bring the issue up as a referendum, but he said it legally would take 35 percent of voters on a petition before legislation could be introduced for a referendum on the issue.

A bigger issue in this whole debate is how the state assesses the value of mobile homes vs. stick-built homes, which Ridley has no control over, but which played a crucial role in his decision.

Perhaps it is time for the state to take a fresh look at the laws regarding mobile home assessment to see if they reflect the realities of today’s economy.

We don’t want to see anyone have to pay more taxes, but progress — be it roads, schools or quality of life — is all predicated on having a tax base to support it.



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