Remember - we are all in this together

Just thought it appropriate to take a few moments off from the scratching and clawing of the campaign to note the significance of this day 10 years ago.

It was this day 10 years ago that a bunch of crazy guys thought they could move their agenda forward by hijacking a set of airliners and using them as devices of mass destruction and fear. In the end all they accomplished was to doom their own agenda and mire the country (and much of the world) into a decade of war, destruction and death.

The important thing to really focus on here though is the heroism displayed by many, many people during this entire period and to remember all the lives lost during this period. We would be remiss if we did not note here that these events only drive home the point that freedom is not free and always comes at a cost, and in this case the greatest cost of the lives of our fellow citizens.

So let it be said that all of us at "$500 Million Tax - Too Much!" do not miss the significance of this day and honor the efforts of our first responders and public servants. We would also hope these individuals would also recognize that what makes freedom valuable is all our rights and responsibilities to be involved in the process of governance and in the sausage making of development of public policy. The price these individuals paid, with their lives, DEMANDS that we all remember and stay involved to INSURE our freedoms are maintained and developed.

Finally we would like to point out that while we all want to acknowledge the efforts and heroism of our first responders, that there was also a clear example that we are all in this boat together with the heroism displayed by the passengers of flight 93 over Pennsylvania that day. These brave soles understood their responsibility to stay engaged and responsible for our freedoms and to insure that no more first responders or fellow citizens lives were put at risk by giving up their own lives.

We must always remember these heroes through our own full engagement with our world around us and in defense of our rights and freedoms. We must always watch out for each others back.....

Just more threatening "Doom and Gloom" misinformation

So here we go......daily mailing from LR city hall and their cohorts (in this case the LRFOP) about how the "World is going to end" if we do not vote for this "Mega Tax" proposal, an example is shown below.....

One thing they show on the other side of this mailing is that it is from the "Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police" (they really would prefer you think it comes from LRCH tax promoters, the Markham Group) and that they are an organization whose expressed function is to promote the singular interest of their public safety officer members, as shown in the next image.....

Here is an IMPORTANT omission from their "Doom and Gloom" THREATENING mailer....

their members work FOR (are employees of) the city and this organization DOES NOT determine city policy or PUBLIC SAFETY STAFFING LEVELS OR SUPPORT FUNDING LEVELS! Thus they have no authorization to say what the future police department staffing levels or support funding levels will be if this tax does not pass.

(The mayor has been quoted as saying they "MAY" have to "start" letting "some" of the stimulus positions go...NOT ALL OF THEM!!!! And on and on with this group's fear mongering!!!)

It appears this group is more frightened of THEIR future and NOT for ours (when it comes to sales taxes paid)!

And finally the worst part...it fails to recognize that the Little Rock residents want to do all this, for our police,....they just do not want it to be used as HOSTAGE to bribe us to also pay for a bunch of baubles and toys for the BIG Chicago Realtors and Developers that want to run Little Rock City Hall!!

We were ready for the debate Mayor, where were you???

Just for the record everyone, the local FOX news station had contact with the mayor and was asking him to participate in a televised discussion of his tax proposal, see our readiness, waiting for the mayor to say yes, in the photo below..

But then what would you expect, our confusion shown in the photo below with all the delay.....

But in the end, what would we expect, the mayor says NO and he will not send anyone else...NO PUBLICLY TELEVISED DEBATE....our disappointment...

So, in other words, the Mayor is AFFRAID to discuss the pros and cons of his proposal in a HIGHLY public televised debate.....and he claims this is FULLY supported by the public.

THEN WHAT IS HE AFRAID OF.......????

Local government idea of "Fair Government"

Leave it up to city hall to make sure they crush the opposing view...just like is being done by the autocrats of the middle east.

Now I know 501 W Markham has been the early polling place the last few elections...but with an election involving a tax increase proposal from Little Rock city hall, is it FAIR to put early voting right across the street from them so they have full access to the voters??? I am sure the county has someplace that is more centrally located in Little Rock! An example of just the way city hall is using their access to GAME the system is by letting the firemen's union put their BIG OLE truck in front of city hall...ALL DAY! Isn't there some kind of parking limit in place and if not, then that is a street we ALL paid for so the opposition should be given EQUAL ACCESS. See the photos below....note that city hall is 500 and the polling place is 501...both on Markham!!!

It must be really scary when you are trying to sell something that you do not want anyone else to have the right to discuss its bad points as well as its good points. City hall just wants you to know only their side and NO ONE ELSES...kind of like those autocrats in the middle east.

That is what Little Rock City Hall lets pass for REPRESENTATIVE "GOOD" governance!!

I am sure the firefighters use this truck for all kinds of fire personnel events...with all the vote for $500 Million MORE TAXES..all over it!!!!

$500 million for "FUTURISTIC" stuff...REALLY??

I have cited this several times over the last few post.....

In conclusion....they would have you believe this thing is suppose to be about vision....it is suppose to be about "the next great city in the south" and about "PLANNING" for that "futuristic" Little Rock EXPANSION and those JOBS!!!

So if it is all about good planning....then why does assistant city manager Bryan Day say this.....

THIS IS "EXACTLY" THE POINTS GUYS....WE HAVE GOTTEN TO THIS POINT BECAUSE..

THERE IS "NO" PLAN!!!!

Citizen....why can't LRCH take care of the established parts of the city????

Here is the crux of the whole issue, Little Rock city hall is not paying attention to the needs of the established infrastructure, from the mouth of a REAL common citizen!!!

Their answer, just give us $500,000,000.00 more in taxes and we "PROMISE" to do better in the future!!!

Again, REALLY need to discuss impact fees, but to be fair..."they have not been asked recently"???

Really, this is, again, immediately countered by Ms. Wells.

Maybe he thinks they have not been asked....BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT LISTENING!!!

Again...no real annexation in years...NOT TRUE!

Majority of the 04 bond funds were spent in wards 1 and 2...Really....$10 million in Ward 1, $5 million in ward 2 and a total of $30 million in all the other wards. Oh yea, there is the $30 million spent...community wide. So how does that work out to the majority spent in wards 1 and 2???????

Finally, Mr Day repeats, they have an $8 million hole in their budget, but does not know where budget cuts will be made (why doesn't he ask all those city employees that are being told if the tax doesn't pass they will be laid off...that have been talking to us). But, in any case, a good solution to fill an $8 million hole is to put $500,000,000.00 into the hole...makes perfect sense...RIGHT????

Tax revenues are flat and have been for a while...REALLY. I thought we were paying our HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL Little Rock REGIONAL chamber of commerce $200K a year to makes sure that does not happen. Oh, OK, I see that is why we need to give them $38 million to do an even BETTER job!!!

Finally, Franchise revenues "were" down...apparently that means they have increased now???

So remember...In conclusion....they would have you believe this thing is suppose to be about vision....it is suppose to be about "the next great city in the south" and about "PLANNING" for that "futuristic" Little Rock EXPANSION and JOBS!!!

So They say "Growth Pays for itself", really? Watch this

Here is the next clip from the CLRN tax proposal discussion, where they say they have CLEARLY shown that "Growth pays for itself"....REALLY, then why the tax!!!!

All we have been asking them for years is "Not to ignore obvious proven planning solutions"...SUCH AS IMPACT FEES!!

Their answer..."this is just about more revenues or money"...WE SAY it is simply a down payment on 10 to 15 years of MORE (unsupervised) WESTWARD EXPANSION!!!

The city's representative, Bryan Day, can be summarized....

* Expansion to Perry county line is just a supposition (Really Bryan, then why has the population center of Little Rock moved a mile or so west with the last 4 or 5 census...FACT)

* Need to discuss impact fees, and NOW he and the Mayor agree it is a needed discussion...just not right now (sound familiar, reflect back to the last video post)

* westward expansion and impact fees are not part of the discussion (thus there is no reason to discuss that BAD planning has resulted in the need for increased taxes)

* This is a good one..Bryan says, simply, this is about current needs out in west Little Rock and a"little more" for "current" immediate needs (so, by their own admission they NEED 8 million...then maybe another 8, making 16 million....but they ask for $500,000,000.00 for those immediate and current needs)

* Now as for that futuristic planning and the no need for impact fees etc., Mr. Day CLEARLY states in this video there is NO PLAN for expansion to the western Perry county line. Yet the population westward shift along with the other CLEAR data presented by Ms. Wells, CLEARLY show that IS what is happening.

So we repeat our premise this tax request comes from there being no proper planning about the constant day in and day out westward expansion of the city. And in this video, Mr. Day, confirms just that he CLEARLY says...."there is NO plan"!!!!

A couple more points...Mr. day says there have been only one small annexation over the last several years...NOT TRUE.....

He also points out he was not here in 96 so he does not know what things were like back then that the city spoke of...

So question, Mr. Day....how can you guys ever hope to get a handle on the systemic problems of the city, one of which is the lack of proper planning,....

"When you REFUSE to take possession of the problems"????

Remember...In conclusion....they would have you believe this thing is suppose to be about vision....it is suppose to be about "the next great city in the south" and about "PLANNING" for that "futuristic" Little Rock EXPANSION and JOBS!!!

So you ask - what are impact fees? Watch this

So here is a clip from the public Coalition of Little Rock Neighborhoods discussion of the proposed "$todola Mega Tax Monster".

So I just want to point out some high points to watch for in the video...

Mr. Lynch gives a fairly simple example of how impact fees should and DO work.

Contrary to what the city would have you believe, citizens interested in GOOD planning and annexation have been asking the city to implement impact fees for DECADES! But they have ALWAYS ignored the request!!!!

Then the city's tax proponent, Annie Abrams, seems to indicate a few surprising things; first, impact fees are what "smart-intelligent" people use to implement proper planning of city expansion (so thus by default our present administration must be "dolts"), 2nd, and this one I like, she says that impact fees are an important part of proper "futuristic" planning (I guess that is what the research park is also for.."futuristic" jobs), this is important and will be referred back to in a later post. Key word here people is the proper "planning" that these guys say they have been doing and "plan" to set us on the "right" track (remember this statement in a later post).

Oh yea, note that she also adds she is sure that the city will "surely" correct any inconsistencies in the tax proposal..."inconsistencies" WHAT INCONSISTENCIES????

There could be none of these because she also states that this proposal had extensive planning and development. Let's see how that works...we started discussing this thing in March, it was voted to move forward in June and a week later (1 week) there was a list of expenditures produced to spend $500,000,000.00...this is what is defined as extensive planning and development. That would be 4 months for the whole thing and 1 week to decide and place a half billion dollars of expenditures....how could there be any inconsistencies in a solid planning method like that????

Finally, the Board refused to consider a citizens oversight committee of the spending of this half billion dollars, likely because it was so "WELL PLANNED OUT"...right!!!!

In conclusion....they would have you believe this thing is suppose to be about vision....it is suppose to be about "the next great city in the south" and about "PLANNING" for that "futuristic" Little Rock EXPANSION and JOBS!!!

And about that research park idea....

So we have an article in todays Gazette about this research park idea....

In LR tax vote, business aim sticky 

By Kristin Netterstrom

Our Position

Opponents have questioned the wisdom of taxing Little Rock shoppers during tough economic times to pay for expanding the Little RockPort, creating a fund to match state incentives and helping build a research park that opponents say will initially create high-paying jobs for people with graduate-level degrees or business transplants from outside the city.

Some other interesting points.....

Only 12.7 percent of Arkansas residents over 25 hold bachelor’s degrees and 6.1 percent have graduate or professional degrees, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey.

In other words....no one living here is going to get one of these high paying "futuristic" jobs they claim they will produce.

But acquiring land, building interior roads and the first 100,000-square-foot office and laboratory space will cost an estimated $50 million, according to updated estimates provided by the chamber. Consultants in 2009 estimated the park would need an annual operating budget of $650,000 to $900,000.

and

Chancellors for both universities said they’re not sure what their institutions’ financial contributions will be other than renting space at the park. Both schools’ on-campus research facilities are near capacity.

In other words they want access and control over the facility but will not be obligated to provide ANY of the funding!!!!

UAMS’ BioVentures has housed 47 companies since 1998, creating 532 jobs with a payroll of $26.5 million.

A research park off campus would provide more laboratory space, Cornett said, and office space for smaller startups that can’t afford much overhead.

UALR’s smaller operation also has run out of room after discoveries by faculty led to the creation of seven startup companies that employ 16 full-time workers and 17 part-time employees.

In other words ~14 jobs a year...likely to people who do not live here!!!

I made more extended comments in the post of this story at the Arkansas Times blog....

more on the jump...

With this economy...WHY then "$todola Mega Tax"??

So the recent news on our present and future economic outlook is NOOT good...so this a good time to implement a $500,000,000.00 "$todola Mega Tax Monster" for what reasons again??????

See just a few of the headlines and small portions of the stories....

First was the Editorial in today's Arkansas Gazette...

Against the tax increase Too big, wrong time, and out of touch

By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Whoever drew up this proposition scattered around proposals for both basic services (like public safety) and capital spending (like a bigger port and industrial park) like so much bait. The result: If a Little Rock voter just wants better police and fire protection and law enforcement in general, he’s got to swallow this wh-o-o-o-le thing.

and.....

Maybe if Little Rock’s voters-and hard-presssed taxpayers-would vote unequivocally against this double barreled hit, city hall might finally get the word. It needs to. Direct from the people. The message: Come back later. If and when the economy improves. With something more reasonable.

Our thoughts exactly!!!!!

next......read more on the jump

Another "tax me more Goodie" paid from LRCH

Sorry for the absence readers, I have been busy campaigning, getting publishable material together and reshaping the WEB site, listed below. Things are getting VERY busy now...so posts will not come as frequently.

Just noticed this post, given below, in the times about how LRCH has had to go back into the Heights and reinforce THEIR BASE voters. Makes me wonder if the Markham Goup and the LRCOC polling indicates a weakening of support from the Heights.

AS they say...LRCH has to "grease the wheels" of their mega tax proposal, and we all know how good LRCH and LRCOC are at that kind of "good old boy and girl" politics!!!!

As I said...read my response to the Times post on the jump...