We've all read reams about the hand-wringing going on with the issue of "affordable housing" in our county. But what about the larger issue of affordable taxes?

Local elected officials want us to think of the tax problem in terms of how many services must be eliminated. That's backwards. We taxpayers are the ones who are providing tax money by the barrel, and we are being milked. But I don't hear many elected officials expressing concern about us. Rather, the politicians are crying wolf. All we hear from local officials in the press is that the sky is falling, that police and firemen jobs will be slashed, and we will be left unprotected. Hooey. Huge dollars can be cut before vital services are touched.

We have unfair and unaffordable property taxes. The Legislature is on its way to providing relief, but the city and county governments are squealing that doomsday approaches.

Local politicians have placed the taxpayer cart before the horse. Rather than talk about what local government "needs" in taxes, let's have taxpayers decide what they can afford to pay. Then, it's up to government to prioritize and do the best they can with what taxpayers can afford to send. The Florida Legislature is going to come up with a property tax bill that is fair, and they will do it by imposing financial discipline. It will then be the job of our local governments to set realistic priorities, not raise false alarms. The Legislature is not advocating action that will cut vital services.

Now, here's a prediction you can bank on: starting on the day that the Legislature enacts its decision on property tax cuts, local officials will blame every problem going forward on this enactment. They will manufacture a "crisis" designed to cause the Legislature to come back to "undo the evil they did". Politics being what it is, in a battle between local governments vs. the Legislature, local governments will be strong. There are many more of them, and they are better known.

The very minute the Legislature passes tax reform, local governments will spring their campaigns to have it repealed, blaming every local ill on the reform, pumping dozens of "victim stories" to the media. Local officials will jack up every fee and service charge they can, and dream up new ones. They will create new Special Taxing Districts. Their goal will be to reach the point where their government revenues equal or exceed the property tax reduction. Local government bureaucrats will be relentless and arrogant in this cause, because this is their full-time occupation. Elected and hired officials will pay taxpayer money to hire hordes of lobbyists, and will fight fiercely to rebuild their fiefdoms, by rebuilding taxpayer revenue. Our own money will be used against us.

Mark my word. We will see this campaign unfold in a professional way, and quickly. The only way we can stop it is if enough of us taxpayers are wise to the plot and the tricks being played against us. The Legislature will hand the taxpayers a victory, but we won't hold the upper hand long unless we are vigilant and organized going forward. If taxpayers do not defend their victory, they will have won a battle but will lose the war.

John R. Smith is Chairman of  BizPac and owner of a financial services company.