To the Editor:

If it were up to me, I’d see that Judy Wells isn’t re-elected as treasurer of Isle of Wight County. Our county is hard hit by a recession and the closing of our paper mill, resulting in thousands of jobs being lost. Yet, Judy is set to take away your car until you pay up hundreds of dollars to the Virginia Recovery company hired to do seizures.

Now of course, everyone should pay their share of taxes. But to forcibly take away someone’s vehicle (note: no taxi service in Isle of Wight) at a time of recession and job-loss is unconscionable. And, over as little as $500! Great way to please the voters, Judy.

My biggest issue isn’t just the towing, which is excessive; it’s the fees cooked up by this company. At $350, that’s almost as much as what most folks owe in taxes. No wonder this guy prowls our neighborhoods scanning cars in a Cadillac.

Of course, the scanning system is expensive: $100,000. I guess the high fees are necessary to help Virginia Recovery operate in secret and afford its fancy cars they drive in.

State law says fees charged can’t exceed 20 percent of the taxes owed. My math says 20 percent of $500 is about $100. Maybe because this is done by a treasurer and not a court of law, fuzzy math is allowed here. But I say this is as crooked as local politics gets. Anyone else running for treasurer? You’ve got my vote.

Dave Lyons

Smithfield