This has been in my craw for awhile, as you may know.
The county wants more money from the state in alcohol taxes.
The mayor wants the county to have the power to raise sales taxes.
While I do agree with the county getting more alcohol taxes, I don’t agree with the sales tax increase.
My solution all along has been, “Why not just cut a check to the county from the city?”
Local historian and all around clock repairman spoke at the council’s public testimony, former county commissioner Bob Kolbe talked about county expenditures (and ribbed county commissioner Dick Kelly, which was well deserved), he also talked about sharing revenues.
So I cornered Bob after the meeting. I asked him, “What is preventing the city from cutting the county a check each year, for let’s say 20-30 million dollars a year, for law enforcement and prosecutions? Is it against state law for the city to give the county money?” He felt it was not.
The irony of this is while the city spends a shit ton of money on attorneys employed by them to go after people criminally with fencing in their yards, the State’s attorney is begging for money to help prosecute REAL criminals, you know, rapists, murderers, thieves.
If this mayor and city council had any backbone, conscience, or even an inkling of community spirit, they would budget a supplement to the county budget each year for crime and prevention.
But hey, we got ‘toys’ to build, and putting a rapist away isn’t as fun as playing indoor tennis on a January afternoon.