I’ll start the campaign now
It took 8 tries, but the Blount Commission finally got a wheel tax referendum on the ballot. In August 2006, county residents get to decide if they want to get taxed more:
The referendum resolution, which came from the commission’s Financial Management Committee, passed 12-5, with one commissioner passing.
If the measure is approved, the county would begin collecting the tax in January 2007.
I’ll be voting a hardy Hell no and advise my fellow Blount Countians to do the same. The Daily Times rounds up the votes:
With little discussion, Commissioner Bob Kidd’s motion to approve the referendum passed 12-5 with one commissioner passing and three absent.
Voting for the referendum were Commissioners Bob Arwood, Keith Brock, Dennis Cardin, Joe Everett, David Graham, John Keeble, Kidd, Jeff McCall, Kenneth Melton, Chairman Robert Ramsey, Otto Slater and Mike Walker.
Voting against the referendum were Commissioners Gary Farmer, Steve Hargis, Robby Kirkland, Dan Neubert Sr. and Shirley Townsend.
Commissioner Ernie Tallent passed on the vote, and Commissioners Donna Dowdy, Bob Evans and Steve Gray were absent.
Shame on Tallent for not making a decision. And shame on the absent folks for not showing up to do the job people elected them to do. Also, there was some disagreement from the citizens:
Linda King of Citizens for Blount County’s Future spoke against the wheel tax earlier in the meeting, but said after the vote that she was “glad” the issue was at least going to be in the hands of the voters.
“We hope to get the word out to people that a wheel tax wouldn’t be necessary if commissioners would cut waste from the county,” she said. “If they would be conservative with taxpayers’ money, we would already have money for highways.”
One citizen, however, spoke in favor of the wheel tax.
Robert Sliker told commissioners he had spoken with Highway Superintendent Bill Dunlap about how he could use the $1 million generated by a wheel tax to get an additional $4 million in federal grants.
“I’d rather pay 20 percent than the total cost,” he said, comparing the deal to buying one tire and getting the other three free. “I think it’s a very good use of our taxpayers’ money.”
August 19th, 2005 at 11:41 am
“spoke against the wheel tax”
Heh.
August 19th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
Good luck uncle. If they slide one past the public at ten bucks, I guarantee they will Ragsdale you a year or two later with a huge increase.
August 19th, 2005 at 3:07 pm
“… he could use the $1 million generated by a wheel tax to get an additional $4 million in federal grants.”
In other words: We’ll use this as justification to get the Feds to steal money from someone else (at gun point) and give it to us.