For Wilshire Baptist Church
I’ve mentioned in some of these writings in recent weeks that our house was to be included in a home tour in downtown Garland. Well, the event went off without a hitch and it turned out to be more fun than I imagined – and more educational as well.
The preparation alone was worth it because it pushed us to catch up on some projects we had been putting off and some we hadn’t even thought of. We built and planted new new flower beds, had the windows washed, hung pictures, cleaned up our desks, had an old chair reupholstered and a cast-iron patio table repainted, and we even on our own rebuilt and padded the chair seats.
But it was when I was down on my knees, re-staining the front door outside and touching up some wall dings inside, that I really felt some preaching coming my way. It was there that I saw up close – and felt deep down in my back – just a fraction of the hard work that goes into building a house. And I found myself thanking the men and women who worked so hard to build this house from the ground up.
A few weeks ago at Wilshire we enjoyed a performance of “Working,” a Broadway show about the lives, hopes and dreams of everyday people. Most of the characters portrayed are what we call “working class” people, and most of us in the audience were anything but that. After the show we talked about the work people do and the way we treat some people who do the work we don’t want to do or can’t do – and how we mostly ignore them until we need them.
These are the people who built our house – the house we showed off at the home tour this past weekend. These are the people I was thanking as I knelt in front of walls, touching up what they had done so well the first time and did with so much more skill and ease than I can ever muster.
Coincidentally, during the few weeks between “Working” and the home tour we received our annual property valuation and tax statement. When we opened the envelope we were shocked at how much our market value has increased. The taxable value nudged up just a little and is within reason, but the market value sets a ceiling that the tax folks can keep pushing us toward year after year. If we were selling the property then that market value would put a smile on our face, but we plan to live here forever or until we die, whichever comes first, so we’re not too pleased.
So my white-collar mind goes to scheming and strategizing about how to cast our home and even our neighborhood in a bad light in a hearing at the tax appraisal district. I’ve been there several times before and am about even in success vs. failure. But at the same time, I have joined the chorus of those who say our teachers, police and firefighters need to be hired in abundance, need to be well-trained and supported, and certainly need a paycheck in line with their contributions to our lives. And of course there’s no hiding where the money for that comes from: the property taxes that are generated from the houses that we are privileged to enjoy and even show off on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
I was at the front door during the home tour and quite a few people complimented us and even thanked us for building a new house that fits the history and aesthetics of Garland’s oldest neighborhood. There is a sort of stewardship of local history and the neighborhood spirit that goes with that, and I can honestly say that we never had plans to do anything but build something that fits.
But there also is a stewardship of the greater public good in owning and improving a property that contributes tax revenue to help fund education and other public services. We increased the tax generating power of our property many times when we turned a vacant lot into a home. And before that our builder provided jobs to the craftsmen and tradesmen who built it, and our taxes are joined with yours and others to pay for the services that they and we all want for our communities.
It’s a lesson in basic civics but also in generosity and responsibility. I’m a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. I want to fix the world but I don’t want to blow through the checkbook either. It’s a hard gap to bridge and it takes a lot of give and take – at the courthouse and at city hall, but also here on the streets where we live. We can’t improve anything by holding back everything. If we plant a tree we have to water it too. If we build something we have to tend to its maintenance. If we want good schools and services, we have to pay for them. If we want to have good neighbors, we have to be good neighbors. I could go on and on but I think you get the point.