By Peter Keller | CNA Chair
Hi neighbors. I hope everyone is enjoying the early spring weather. The occasional sun breaks and sporadic rain showers make it hard to figure out how to dress when headed outside.
Like the spring weather, life is unpredictable.
One thing that is predictable is taxes. Yes, that’s one thing we adults all have in common. Whether you don’t like paying them, preparing the forms or don’t agree with where the money goes, chances are more than likely we share a common dread about them.
Taxes are on my mind because I’m taking a break from working on mine to write this column. As a self-employed person, I manage my bookkeeping and prepare everything for my accountant.
Technology has improved the process quite a bit but it still takes time. If you’re like me, you wait until the end of the year to sort it all out. Reminds me of Travis Bickle from “Taxi Driver,” “One of these days I gotta get myself organezized.” He’s a creepy character, but it’s a memorable line and movie.
Obviously some people really enjoy working with numbers and spreadsheets and make careers of this, namely bookkeepers and accountants. I’m sure we have a few living in the neighborhood.
I know bookkeepers and accountants are busy right now, but I hope they see this column because the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) also has to file tax forms. While we have a volunteer treasurer who works very hard to manage our finances, we could use a little help with our taxes and bookkeeping.
Speaking of numbers, we could also use some help with our ones and zeros. CNA had a volunteer IT person, Will Goubert, who managed our modest IT needs for several years. Will is retiring and also retiring from his volunteer IT work. We’d like to thank Will for all of his help over the years.
If you or someone you know has bookkeeping, accounting or IT skills and is interested in volunteering, we would love to hear from you. You can email me directly at Chair@ConcordiaPDX.org.
In other news, we had a great turnout at our March general meeting, where we heard from the city about some of the programs and ongoing planning to address the housing emergency.
We really appreciate the participation and I want to remind neighbors that you are encouraged and welcome to join our monthly meetings (CNA Board of Directors, Land Use & Transportation Committee, Media Team and Finance Committee). Find details about those meetings to the right on this page. Happy Spring!
Native Portlander Peter Keller has lived in Concordia since 1997. He runs a small marketing agency with partner Max, out of their home studio. He loves exploring outdoors with and without his dogs.