That darn 1/8th cent tax hike, again
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Sun, 02/16/2014 - 7:13pm
In 2012 the people of Carson City voted DOWN the ballot initiative CC #1 which called for a 1/8th cent hike in the sales tax, to be used for a new library and other development downtown, including the reduction of traffic on Carson Street from 4 to 2 lanes so as to make room for wider, more pedestrian friendly sidewalks or additional street parking or both.
Now the same 1/8th cent tax hike and the traffic lane and sidewalk changes are back, this time as part of a bundle of unrelated projects including a multipurpose athletic center, a new dog pound, and four or five "corridor" improvements (none of which are specified in any detail).
And this time the Board of Supervisors seems to claim the right, unlike in 2012, to vote on this proposal themselves, without a vote of the people as in 2012.
I must confess to not understanding the difference between 2012 and 2014. But one thing is clear. The people had already voted on the tax hike and the vote was a resounding NO. The people has already voted on the lane reduction, and the vote was a resounding NO. What does it take for the Board of Supervisors to get the message?
Yes, the city owns the roadways and sidewalks, so it is the city's responsibility to maintain them and the city's prerogative to change their configuration. But no taxpayer funded plan of any sort that will directly benefit private business should proceed if there is no matching plan from the business and property owners to improve their facilities so as to attract more customers. This is NOT a chicken and the egg problem. In a business you invest first, according to your best judgement and business sense about what it takes to bring in more customers and generate more business.
The board of supervisors should not go against the people's will until the businesses make an equal or greater commitment to improve their "corridors," if even then. If the businesses were to do that, we would just as likely find that there will be no need to do a bond issue and a tax hike to repay it, because the increased tax revenue from the increased volume of business would pay for it. SOMEBODY -- but not outside consultants -- needs to do an economic study before ANYBODY votes on this proposal. It might just show that it is better not to choke traffic on Carson Street, and to do the simultaneous public sidewalk and private business facility improvements in the back, along Curry and Plaza streets. Or we might come to realize that there is not much we can do -- because so much of downtown is government buildings -- unless and until we get the kind of businesses to locate there that would give reason for people to want to go downtown. Abandoned lawyers offices, bars and other store fronts that lie empty for years tend to give the opposite impression.
- Board of Supervisors
- Carson City
- animal shelter
- athletic
- benefit
- Buildings
- Buildings.
- Business
- carson
- Carson Street
- CC
- CC#1
- center
- City
- corridors
- Development
- dog
- downtown
- Government
- hike
- MAC
- need
- new
- New Library
- Opinion
- Pedestrian
- public
- revenue
- sales
- sales tax
- Show
- Supervisors
- tax
- tax hike
- vote
- Library
- Traffic
