Bread for the World Action on Event Center funding

Next Monday, Nov.16, the Sioux Falls city council will receive the report from the Event Center Task Force. Whether or not you want a new event center, we hope you will agree that the plan should not ask for the funding to come from struggling families, elderly, disabled people, nursing homes, etc, which it will, if sales tax is the choice for the funding.

1. Can you come to city council next Monday? 7pm, 10th & Dakota

2. Will you contact the council before that meeting?

The city council could ask the task force to reconsider their funding option and bring back to the council a plan that does not tax basic necessities.

BACKGROUND
• There is a movement afoot to ask the state legislature to allow cities to raise their sales taxes for new city projects (such as this event center in Sioux Falls).
• Bread for the World takes no position on whether to build new city projects, only on the method of their funding.
• We oppose an increase in sales tax that would have the net effect of raising the cost of living for low- and middle-income people.
• Sales tax in South Dakota applies to many basic necessities, including food, heat and electric bills, baby formula, baby diapers, car repairs, nursing home food and supplies, and thus, higher sales tax would raise the cost of living.
• Cities have other funding options. The tax on hotels and restaurants comes immediately to mind (called bed-board-and-booze tax). These other options would take longer, but most big buildings are not paid for in 3 to 4 years.
• South Dakota is a low-wage state (at the bottom with Mississippi). Many South Dakota households with low-incomes and middle-incomes do not have extra money to spare for higher taxes, meaning the higher tax would cut into their basic necessities.
• South Dakota’s tax structure is terribly regressive already (the state and local tax burden falling harder on the lower incomes than those more well off), and higher sales tax would make this tax structure even more regressive. [For a graph on this, go to www.endthefoodtax.org. In the section “PDF resources”, the graph is item #9.]
•  Special projects should not be funded on the backs of hungry children, struggling families, the elderly, the disabled, and nursing homes.

Below is the contact info.  Let’s take the privilege to speak up for people who need our voices.

“If you think you’re too small to be effective, then you’ve never been to bed with a mosquito.” -Anita Roddick

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SIOUX FALLS CITY COUNCIL 11’09
You can leave one message for all the council at 367-8080
You can send one letter and ask that it be copied for all the council. Address: 235 W 10 St, Sioux Falls 57104
OR WRITE EACH SEPARATELY:
Kenny Anderson, PO Box 7402, 57117, 367-8809, 261-5132-h
De Knudson, 2100 E Slaten Ct, 57103, 367-8111, 338-9431-h
Vernon Brown, 1220 S Phillips Ave, 57105, 367-8809, 339-0084-h
Pat Costello, 108 W St Andrews Dr, 57108, 367-8114, 334-6942-h
Gerald Beninga, 4205 S Lewis, 57103, 367-8109, 339-1921-h
Greg Jamison, 6300 Grand Prairie Dr, 57108, 367-8819, 361-9500-h
Bob Litz, 615 S Grange, 57104, 367-8115, 331-4409-h
Kermit Staggers, 616 Wiswall Pl, 57105, 367-8112, 332-0357-h
Mayor Munson, 224 W 9th St, 57104, 367-7200, 336-6987-h

FIND THEIR EMAIL ADDRESSES IN THIS LIST:
kandersonjr@siouxfalls.org, dknudson@siouxfalls.org, vbrown@siouxfalls.org, pcostello@siouxfalls.org, gbeninga@siouxfalls.org,gjamison@siouxfalls.org, blitz@siouxfalls.org, kstaggers@siouxfalls.org,
Mayor Munson <citylink@siouxfalls.org>
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