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Osceola group backs hospital tax
To the editor:
Our mission is to serve "the commercial, industrial, civic and general interest of Osceola and South Mississippi County, Arkansas." Through word-of-mouth referrals to information packets, from our website to social media, we continuously strive to promote our area as a great place to live, work, have a business and raise a family.
That being said, we would like to publicly express our support for the proposed half-cent sales tax for the Mississippi County Hospital System. We feel it is in the best interest of Mississippi County as a whole to take action now in the name of economic development, local jobs and quality of life.
We have been fortunate as a county to have outstanding economic development efforts, bringing thousands of jobs over the last decade. This has been possible due to many benefits, two of which being local hospitals in both Blytheville and Osceola. Having out-of-date medical facilities is a burden, but should we lose a hospital facility, we would be unable to recruit new or retain existing industries due to unaffordable, uncompetitive workers' compensation insurance.
In addition to potentially putting our industries at a disadvantage, the hospital system is one of our county's major employers, with over 300 employees and a payroll of $15 million, much of which is spent at local restaurants, local shops and in local homes. The potential impact on our local economy of those lost jobs is huge, and at a time of promising growth, could be a huge setback to our progress.
Finally, quality medical care is important to our residents of all ages. As mentioned, we are experiencing an opportunity for growth for our area, and up-to-date medical facilities are a great asset to help promote our entire county as a great place to live, raise a family and retire. We feel a sales tax is preferable to a property tax, both to avoid creating a housing environment that discourages relocation, and the fact that an estimated 30 percent is expected to be generated through out-of-county shoppers, helping ease the burden on our citizens.
As the business community would likely agree, new taxes are not appealing under normal circumstances. However, this is not a normal circumstance, and we need to act in support of this sales tax benefitting the Mississippi County Hospital System in order to protect our local quality of life, local jobs and the needs of our existing and potential industries. We encourage the community to vote in support of this measure on the Oct. 14 special election.