We understand the fear and frustration.

As Lycoming County and some of its municipalities — including Williamsport — and school districts adapt or weigh the possibility of property tax increases, we recognize the strain and burden higher property taxes place on homeowners.

Of course we can reiterate that local governments and school districts need to ask tough questions. They need to find spending cuts. They need to find where services and administrative functions are being duplicated and consider regionalization or consolidation.

They — and we — need to remind our state government — our lawmakers and our governor — that court rulings have placed the responsibility for fairer distribution of funding for public schools on the state government. It’s why we have pleaded for our state government to roll back the trend of increased state spending on other facets of Pennsylvanian life — we need to clear a path for those state revenues to replace the property taxes that blesses schools in the wealthiest neighborhoods and communities while leaving schools in poorer communities at a disadvantage.

But we must encourage local officials — members of school boards, township supervisors, borough and city council members alike — not to treat the hard work of their neighbors as the pinata that will replace property taxes.

We want our neighbors to seek gainful employment, to contribute to their economy and to their communities. We implore officials: Do not beat that willingness to work hard out of men and women with tax hikes on earned income.

Schemes to replace all or most property taxes with income taxes or payroll taxes are not fair and do not communicate to your constituents that you value the role labor — the role hard work — plays in the successes of our communities or of our nation.