DC Taxes and Service Requests

Two things are for certain as they say - death and taxes. Twice a year we receive the obnoxious letter in the mail letting us know it is a privilege to pay for property tax. We know most things that arrive in the snail mail are generally items we dislike - junk mail and bills that can't or aren't sent on line. I like the way it is spelled out in several languages. But at least rather than having to write a check, you can pay for it on line using the on line banking system. The property taxes in Milwaukee were quite steep compared to what we pay in DC. But our home is considerably smaller here. And I do have to say the services in Milwaukee were far superior to the services we receive here. It's always a chore to get something done around here. Some routine maintenance shouldn't require reminders. I guess we wouldn't mind paying taxes if we felt we got something out of it. Let's see how long it takes for the grass to be mowed, the garden bed to be weeded, and the hedges to be trimmed on the city property adjacent to our building. I sent a request last week asking for the work to get done and received a tracking email soon after. That unsightly mess makes the building look tacky sitting right next to it. Based on that alone the property value should decrease, but I doubt if the taxes would.