Desert Messenger

16 www.DesertMessenger.com September 20, 2017 "Yeah?!" That was how he answered the phone. Why is it I suddenly felt like hanging up on him? "What do you need?" he said when I didn't respond. Unlike the good old days when a caller had no idea who was calling them I knew that he knew it was me. So hang- ing up on him wasn't an option. "Uh, can you talk?" I mut- tered something along those lines or possibly something else equally as annoying to a guy who, I later found out, had just extricated himself from the bowels of the vehicle he was work- ing on in time to run over to the work- bench and grab the phone before he missed the call. "I'm trying to get some work done," he said. "What do you want?" By this time, I had completely forgot- ten what I wanted. Well at least what I had originally wanted when I called him. I knew without a doubt that what I now wanted was to not only hang the phone up on him but to slam it down in the cradle. Except the most satisfaction you can get with hanging up on someone now is to press the end button really hard. Not nearly as effective as slamming a handset down. So there I sat in my office, trying to think of something invaluable to tell him so I didn't have to actually say that I couldn't remember what I called for. In the old days when he worked in a ga- rage connected to the home office I could just stroll through the garage door, see that it wasn't a good time to talk, and stroll right back to my desk. Not so nowadays. His shop was far enough away that we had to resort to phone calls to communicate. The funny thing about the phone lines. They work well when its an incoming call to the of- fice from the shop. They are answered pleasantly every time. Even when the calls come at the rate of 2-4 an hour. Important requests come through like, "I left my phone book on my desk up there, can you look a number up for me?" or "I forgot the parts on the back porch for this project, are you coming down this way soon?" Oh, here's a really good one. "We're back from riding motorcy- cles, can you bring down some Moun- tain Dew and banana bread?" Since I'm not capable of shrugging off a major indiscretion such as be- ing spoken to rudely on the telephone I couldn't just drop it and get back to work. I felt the need to rant and rave to myself about how I am so nice that I would never answer the phone like that. I told myself that even if he calls three times in a row, every time I answer the phone politely and help with whatever he needs. I told myself that I wouldn't soon forget this improper treatment. I told myself so many things about that two minute phone call that I wasted 30 minutes. And that's when it oc- curred to me. Probably the very sight of my number on Caller ID strikes fear in his heart. How many minutes is he going to have to listen to me rant and rave or give him the com- plete and lengthy history of the reason I called? Unlike his calls to me: Him: "Can you get me this, that or the other thing?" Me: "Yes." Him: "Thanks. Good-bye." Under a minute most calls. Compared to my calls: "Me: You know I was sitting at my desk working on the subscription renew- als because I'm way behind on getting those done and I haven't had any time to work on them because of how hectic our schedule has been and blah blah blah, for probably at least five minutes. Him: Uh... Me: Oh and actually that's not really why I called at all but the reason was . . . blah blah blah blah, another five min- utes. Him: Uh . . . Me: Well, you know what? I think I'll just do blah blah blah. Him: Ok. Me: So how is everything going down there? And now I'm understand- ing why on a busy day of working on a frustrating project the ringing phone, that hopefully is the mo- torcycle shop calling to say they have located the hard- to-find part, turns out to be a wife with too much to say can be slightly annoying. Did I say slightly? That may be an un- derstatement. I'm realizing that when my number shows up on the Caller ID it's a wonder he answers the phone at all. Sherri Kukla is the editor and co-pub- lisher of S&S Off Road Magazine. She along with her husband, the guy-in-the- garage, are also the founders and direc- tors of Thundering Trails off road camp for inner city kids in Southern California. She can be reached at ssormag@gmail. com or www.ssorm.com Sherri's Turn TAXING DISTRICTS We have had a busy year with many changes. One of the most exciting changes we made this year is the new look to the tax statements. Working closely with the Treasurer's office, we created a streamlined look that is easier to understand. We also in- cluded all the taxing entities phone numbers for your convenience. Taxing Entities Many taxpayers become upset when they see how much of their tax bill goes to these entities. Every year, taxing entities such as schools, fire districts, water districts, and sanita- tion districts hold public meetings where they determine their budgets for the year. The result of budget- ing decisions is taken into account around the same time the tax rate is set. This rate, when applied to the assessed value of your property, de- termines the amount of tax dollars that you pay. Arizona law limits the budgets of all taxing entities and as long as they do not exceed those limits, the County must approve them. The Board of Supervisors does not control the budget of a taxing entity that is within the legal limits. All of this should make it clear why it is important to attend the budget meetings. Go to the meetings, voice your opinion, and give some input. None of us enjoy paying taxes, and it is easy to sit back and complain about them. However, if your input makes even a little difference, isn't it worth your while? Mailing Address The most common problem our office faces is incorrect mailing addresses. Many winter visitors would like our office to maintain Accessor's Corner their winter and summer address. However, our system only allows one address per taxpayer. There- fore, it is your responsibility to contact us each time you change locations. Mailings are sent out in February for Notices of Value. The Treasurer's office also provides e-mail service for your tax state- ments. To register, please go to https://enoticesonline.com/index. php/new-acct, complete the re- quired fields. You will need a copy of your latest tax statement to ob- tain your authorization code. Please note that once you regis- ter for e-notifications, you will no longer receive a paper copy in the mail. Forwarding your mail with the post office may result in mail from our office being returned as "addressee unknown." This can happen be- cause our system creates owners names using the last name first. The scanners at the post office are unable to validate the name and address, resulting in the mail being returned. If you are not receiving your Notice of Value in February or June, this could be the reason. This also holds true for your tax state- ments mailed in September. It is your responsibility to make sure we have a correct mailing ad- dress. We do not mind changing your address every winter and sum- mer when you are visiting Arizona or returning to your home state. If receiving your mail is problematic, you may wish to register for e-mail notices and have peace of mind that you are timely receiving your notices. As always, if you have any ques- tions, please don't hesitate to con- tact our office at your convenience. We are here for you, the taxpayer. Anna Camacho, Assessor

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