Adams County Ballot Deception

I suggest you read the ballot issue proposed by the Adams County Board of Commissioners very carefully this election cycle. They are banking that you will skim through the ballot title and miss a major point. I am speaking about their request to extend the half percent sales tax for roads and bridges. Four years ago we said yes. Now they want to extend it for twenty years. Why?

The full amount of the current tax has been shared by the cities, towns and county for our mutual benefit. This time the Commissioners have chosen to neuter most of the benefits in favor of a personal pet project. If you approve the extension, only Forty percent of the revenue raised will go the roads, streets and bridges. The remaining Sixty percent will go a totally unrelated purpose.

In 1993 you first authorized the half percent sales tax for the new Justice Center. In 1997 you extended it for the Detention Facility. In 2001 it was extended for the street, road and bridges. Now they want to use sixty percent of the money primarily to construct a new “centralized government center”. Because of the major expense involved, they need to continue the tax for Twenty years.

If you feel that their request for the additional County facilities is needed after reading through the ballot issue, vote yes. I for one will vote no simply because of the underhanded deception. Most of us have every right to trust our elected officials. We generally do not pay attention to their every move and should not have to do so. Government officials need to rely on our faith in their judgment in order to operate. At the same time, as they rely on us to give them undying loyalty; we deserve the same. The Commissioners have broken our trust with this ballot issue.

In the ballot text they state that they want to continue the half percent sales tax for improvements to the roads and bridges. A quarter of the way down they mention justice center, a pre-trial holding facility and finally the centralized government center. When you have read half way down you will finally see that the roads and bridges will only get forty percent of the tax extension instead of the present one hundred percent.

Another subtlety lies in the fact that the “big” project, the new government facility, is listed third instead of first. After all, you supported the new justice center in 1993, a detention facility in 1997, and the roads and bridge improvements in 2001. Clever! Bury the major reason for a twenty year tax behind things you already supported. They are counting on our tendency to not read everything through to the end.

Now that you know what is included in the ballot issue; vote your conscience. The Commissioners broke faith and you know my vote.