While Democrats and Republicans squabble over whose ideas got short shrift in a long-overdue report from an 88-member Property Tax Relief Task Force, the pain from ever-increasing tax bills remains real for most of the rest of us homeowners, business owners and renters. 

We hope consolidating local police and fire pension funds will help, but much, much more needs to be done with much, much less posturing. 

Consolidating school districts and encouraging those districts to share administrative personnel and services will cause many parents with young students to squeal, but it must be seriously considered given that two-thirds of a homeowner’s property tax bill typically goes to fund education…

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