Unintended consequences.

Commissioner Scott Mangold brought up that phrase at the last Park County Commission meeting of the year after voting to approve a settlement with a company to build a cellphone tower in the Wapiti Valley.

The courts had essentially left the commissioners, who had earlier voted to deny Horizon a special use permit after a vast majority of residents had objected to a tower on private land adjacent to Green Creek, no choice.

A big part of the reason is a recent law passed by the U.S. Congress that at first blush makes a lot of sense. Basically, cellphone service is a utility and cannot be restricted. The company said the service in the valley and up the North Fork needed to be better for residents and tourists on the way to Yellowstone National Park.

But, as was seen with this case, a law that sounds good on paper, and which was even supported by members of Wyoming’s Washington delegation, came with a downside — unintended consequences that now affect a community that said it didn’t want a tower there (granted, the law is good for the property owner who did indeed want the tower to be built on her property).

So, as we approach another legislative session in Cheyenne, I hope our legislators will think about possible unintended consequences in the bills they’re looking to pass.

That certainly can come into play with legislation aimed at cutting property taxes back to reasonable levels.

I can support cutting back property taxes to a certain extent — reminded as we were by our retiring assessor Pat Meyer that governments have made do with less in property taxes than they’ve gotten in the last few years. But remember, too, in our system, property taxes are vital to pay for a wide variety of services provided by local municipalities, special districts, and of course, school districts. So we can’t cut too much without cutting into the services we rely on.

Unless, that is, there’s a way to offset the loss in revenue.

I was pleased to see Rep. Steve Harshman (R-Casper) is bringing back his legislation from last session that would eliminate property tax for most homeowners and replace the lost revenue with a 2% increase in the sales tax.

While we could get by with another 25% decrease in property taxes, the idea of eliminating a tax I firmly believe is inherently unfair is, to me, worth paying a little more sales tax.

Of course, more sales tax in this area could drive even more business to sales tax free Montana, creating another unintended consequence.

I urge our representatives and senators to think creatively and of the broader picture, and to do what they can to guard against unintended consequences.