I don’t know how some can afford the increase

I started the day in Bedford this morning at a pre-school with three classrooms of kids that sang a couple of songs to me in exchange for me reading a book to them. They were a well behaved bunch and I enjoyed myself. I met with a constituent in Bedford then spent the afternoon at my office in the Hollidaysburg before going to Saxton tonight for a Town Hall meeting. We had 62 people who had a lot of questions, more than we had time for. The big issue tonight was the Bedford County reassessment. I don’t know how representative the group was that attended, but none of them were happy. Most seemed to be large land owners like farmers. Some said that their taxes were going up 11 or 12 times what they are paying now. I don’t know what I can do about their situation, but I told them that I would have a conversation with the Commissioners. This is a real problem for many people. I don’t know how some can afford the increase.

- John