Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/315195
4 MAY 21-27, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM I'm not proud of the fact that we have not had a tax increase in Fayetteville for more than 13 years and, right- minded Fayetteville residents shouldn't be, either. No wonder we lag behind other major municipalities of our size in infrastructure and quality-of-life amenities. For decades this community has been grossly deprived by elected leadership whose priorities were obviously elsewhere. Perhaps at the beach? In 2014, we have gotten to a point where we are forced to deal with the consequences of this neglect. Now we hear that the only solution seems to be the inevitable 4.2 percent tax increase recommendation coming from City Hall and career bureaucrats well-versed and aptly conditioned at spending and allocating other people's money. To say it's "government gone wild" would be an understatement. And, for you lemmings and advocates of the tax increase, for heaven's sake, please stop telling us this is for our own good and it is only $63 a year (on a $150,000 home) or a cup of coffee a week for a year — unless you frequent Starbucks — then you only have to give up one latte a month for a year. In any case, tax advocates claim these are meager amounts that everyone should be able to afford and gladly pay "for better police protection." Really? Well, since crime is our number one priority, how about we fund police protection first. Wow, now there's a novel idea. Here's the point, many Fayetteville residents (I for one) do not feel the city is being prudent in identifying efficiencies in our local government departments and operations. Little has been done to discover and identify economies of scale to eliminate or reduce redundancy. Since the recession began in 2008, local businesses, organizations and institutions have been forced to adopt prudent spending plans and identify efficiencies just to survive the difficult and stagnant economy. Local businesses reduced staff, salaries and hours and sought other ways to enhance their intake or to cut their budgets merely to survive. Reducing crime is our mandated highest priority. Let's deal with it using the resources we currently have. Subsequent priorities, as mandated by the citizens, can then be dealt with using the city's remaining funds. If there is no money left, and a tax increase is needed, then our elected officials can assess and evaluate our options. I'm sure if the needs are imminent, a legitimate tax increase would be recommended without regard to political consequences. As it stands right now, it is difficult to support such a recommendation when we are subjected to shallow reasoning void of facts and deprived of alternatives. Before such a decision is made, Fayetteville residents need to know how this newly created 4.2 percent hike in revenue is going to be allocated and spent. Remember, many Fayetteville residents (think Big Bang annexing) are getting very little for the taxes they are paying. For the most part, many Fayetteville residents believe asking for a spending plan before taking the money is a pretty simple request. I hope the city staff and our elected city officials don't think it is the taxpaying Fayetteville residents who are simple. We'll see how this plays out. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. 4.2 Percent Tax Increase - Really? by BILL BOWMAN STAFF Calendar.......................................14 Concert.Connection....................19 Free.Wheelin'.Feelin'...................22 Horoscopes/Advice.Goddess.....23 Classifieds....................................24. Games..........................................26 Dining.Guide................................27 INSIDE PUBLISHER'S PEN PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Janice Burton editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS OFFICER Jerred Sanders accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com ART DIRECTOR Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/ OFFICE COORDINATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com Kristy Sykes kristy@upandcomingweekly.com Beverly Pone beverlypone@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and infor- mation on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per per- son. Subscriptions can be purchased for $30 for six months or $60 for 12 months, delivered weekly by first class mail. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, Up & Coming Weekly. COMMENTS? Bill@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. High 91° Low 67° Partly Cloudy 7 Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Monday May 26 Tuesday May 27 High 90° Low 64° Partly Cloudy 24 / Thursday May 22 High 87° Low 63° Partly Cloudy High 85° Low 64° Partly Cloudy High 88º Low 62º Partly Cloudy Friday May 23 Saturday May 24 Sunday May 25 Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Call 910.354.1679 High 90º Low 63º Partly Cloudy Since crime is our number one priority, how about we fund police protection first.