To the Editor:
This letter is in regards to the .5% increase of the Proposed Municipal Income Tax City of Sidney tax levy. There are 3 points that I would like to make that seemed to be buried in much of the news articles. First, this .5% tax triples the amount of money currently taken from the taxpayers. It is not even a 10% or 20% increase, but a 333% increase! Second, this is for unfunded projects. Your taxes will not go into the fund that must be used for “roads and bridges,” or for “fire and Police” or for any other “specific need”. Instead, it will go into the general fund where it can be used to fund anything! The taxpayer does not get to vote on how this 333% increase in their taxes will be used. Third, and perhaps most important, this is a permanent tax, so taxpayers will never get the change to revoke it!
Although this may sound like a negative stance against taxpayer levies, I feel that the city needs to give all taxpayers a more targeted, time-limited and smaller increase so that the voters can approve those levies that we agree with and deny those we don’t agree with. There are many levies that I have agreed with and voted for. However, the city needs to propose a better tax levy than this and be more transparent to the taxpayers.
Tara Adams
Sidney
