Menu
Don't be scared into voting for tax
To the editor:
For what its worth, now we have people who are not registered voters, who don't live in the county -- heck, they don't even live in the state of Arkansas, writing our newspaper trying to scare us into voting yes. I just love how people who are not residents of Blytheville tell me that I should vote to tax me some more.
"If we don't vote yes there's going to be big piles of trash that wont be able to be picked up." Why not tell it like it is? If the citizens of Blytheville don't pass the tax, there may not be a golf course left to play on. Taxing your people is not the right thing to do; it's the easy way out. People of Blytheville -- I am talking to registered voters here -- if you feel the tax is the right thing to do, then vote yes; if not, vote no. But do not let someone scare you into voting a certain way.
I have heard from people who are against the tax that they would vote for it. That just ridiculous. This whole tax issue revolves around the golf course. Never have so many had to pay so so few could play golf.
I hear about the great job our City Council is doing, but I cannot see it. They have not searched for any other way to pay the IRS other than by taxing us. They don't want us at Council meetings. I encourage all citizens of Blytheville to vote them and our mayor out of office next term. We should keep trying until we get some people on board who listen to the people. Budget cuts -- that's the answer. Quit throwing money away. Am I the only one who got a little upset that the head of the golf course makes more than the mayor?
You have to reduce spending. We need to do this county-wide. We don't need two courthouses. We don't need two hospitals.We don't have the population that we used to, so why are we trying to support so much? I know why: because the solution is always simple -- we will just make the citizens pay more. I have learned from past mistakes that trying to hold onto too much often ends in losing everything. If Blytheville owes the IRS, why wouldn't you listen to them on how to get yourself out of debt? The IRS didn't say you should see if you can get your citizens to vote for another tax.
I am still waiting on the parks and recreation tax. What happened to the skate park, the community center, the swimming pool? Where is the parks and rec money? I live by Walker Park, and it's in the same shape it has always been in. We can't even get it mowed in the summer -- not even when the county fair comes. What happened to the pumps for the pond so the people who live in the area don't have to smell dead rotten fish during July and August? Walker Park was once a mighty oak; now it's a withered bush. All in all, we passed a tax and got nothing for it. Now you want us to vote on another one. I would have voted to use the parks and rec tax to pay off the IRS, but there's no way I'm voting so a select few can play golf.
I would just like to state that I am not for closing Thunder Bayou. I am for finding a different way to fund it. I think back to growing up playing sports in Blytheville -- a great time it was. We got to play through donations and sponsorships. A lot of people donated time and money so that we could play. As it goes now, we are paying someone $77,000 to lose $427,000. Surely one of the local lawn care companies that makes its living here in Blytheville would maintain the course for a small fee. Maybe the water company could donate water for the greens. Maybe the people of Blytheville could come together and help take care of it like they come together to do the great city cleanup. Maybe the people who play donate time to help it run. Surely it could be maintained for under $500,000 a year.