Menu
An open letter to the mayor of Blytheville
Dear Mayor,
First I want to tell you how sorry I am that you have stepped into a hornet's nest when you got elected. I know you might have thought twice about running for office had you known in advance about all the troubles you would be facing. I hope you can come up with the solutions needed to make Blytheville a better place. And I know you will give it your best shot.
That being said, there are a few issues that I'd like to address, mainly because I think you may not be aware of them.
First, I hope you will not stop pursuing the IRS money that is missing and will continue to try and find out what happened, who is to blame, and where the money went. And hold the people responsible and accountable. I am 100 percent behind you on the 1-cent sales tax. I don't think the people of Blytheville understand just how small of an amount that is. (If you spend $100, the tax is only $1). Fourteen months is a short time and the debt will be paid off with the help of anyone who comes into our town to buy stuff.
Second, we still need to increase the revenue for the city, and there are a few ways to do this without costing the citizens of Blytheville anything. If you look at other cities and compare their hotel/motel tax to ours, you'll see that our tax percentage is much lower than standard. I think the average percent of tax in most towns is 18 or 19 percent. Ours is less than 10, if I'm not mistaken. If you bring us up to standard, it will be a huge increase in revenue for our city that will be much needed in the future. We both know, after the IRS is paid, the problems with this city will still exist. Roads, housing, fire and police, etc, etc. A motel tax increase will help greatly.
Closing down Thunder bayou will not solve any problems. It will only cause more. It brings people in who stay at the motel, eat in our restaurants and shop at our stores. It increases the population at Westminster. It provides a place for several schools who have golf teams. It gives the First Tee a home course, which is a necessity if they are to exist. The chapter for the First Tee is not easy to come by, so we can't let it go. Thunder Bayou provides an amenity to the children at no cost to them. It provides recreation to the poor and middle class as well as the minority individuals in this town. Everyone in this town knows that the country club will not allow minorities on their golf course or in their club house. Maybe you'd like to be a member?
There is a quarter-cent sales tax on the books now that was placed there for the sole purpose of maintaining parks and recreation. I don't think you are aware of this, because it's being hidden as revenue that goes into the general fund. They have been using the surplus to pay for anything that comes up as city debt.
The 1/4-cent was put in place to maintain all the parks, swimming pool, soccer fields, baseball fields and golf course. I don't care what the city does with the surplus of that tax money, but the citizens of Blytheville voted on that tax, knowing that it was intended to maintain parks and recreation. If you close the golf course and continue spending the revenue from the 1/4-cent sales tax, you will be doing the same thing that the previous administration did. They have been robbing Peter to pay Paul for so long and hiding the money while using it any way they see fit. Why haven't the Council members mentioned the 1/4-cent sales tax to you before now?
Next, you have to look at the profits from the air base and make sure the city takes advantage of it. All those houses, businesses and farmland are generating a huge amount of money that will disappear if you leave it where it's at. (You know who is in charge of that money now). It should be future revenue for the city. The motel tax should increase revenue for the city. Add it up and see just how much money we're talking about and think about what that would mean for the city. And if you didn't know about the 1/4-cent sales tax, maybe you should ask the Council members why none of them have mentioned that to you. And think about the consequences if you use tax money for something other than what it was intended for. Maybe no one told you about it on purpose.
There is one other issue, Coca Cola. The city has a contract with Coca Cola and is being paid for selling their products exclusively. Thunder Bayou is their best customer, and if they lose that account, your contract with Coca Cola will probably be voided. You should look at that contract.
I could go on and on, but I know you don't have time to waste. You have a ton of issues to solve and I support your efforts.
Please read this email carefully and consider the things I have mentioned. It's all about paying off the IRS and increasing our revenue. It's not about doing things that will hurt the citizens of Blytheville in any way. Shutting down Thunder Bayou will hurt a lot of people. We have a diamond in the rough. We've spent millions to build it, and to shut it down would be a slap in the face to those who paid for it. You have never gone out to the course and taken a ride around the course to even see what it's like. Don't destroy something that so many of us have worked so hard to build.
Print this email so you can have a hard copy to refer back too.
Thank you for your time.