Property Taxes, Wish Lists, and Wasted Dollars

I want to elaborate on my article yesterday about property taxes and the unrealistic wish lists people in this county seem to have. Mark brought a story to my attention today about school officials wanting parking garages at the high schools to fix traffic problems. What a stupid idea! This is just another burden on taxpayers.

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Make parking a privilege! Charge for spaces, number them, and give juniors and seniors priority. Honor roll students should move to the front of the line. Others can ride the buses we already provide, or walk – just like we did. And by the way, these garages would only be used for about 182 days a year. Dumb.

Another thing that bothers me is the outdoor facility they want to build at the Metra. It costs a fortune to move all that dirt! Plus, we'd only be able to use it for six months out of the year. How many outdoor concerts are you going to host in December or February? What promoter would risk scheduling a rodeo or monster truck show in November? Another dumb idea.

Look at how little use we get out of Dehler Park from October through March – none! Meanwhile, we could get year-round use out of a bigger jail. In fact, why don't we take those prisoners and make them move the dirt to the Metra, one bucket at a time? That would kill two birds with one stone.

The bottom line is this: homeowners and businesses can't afford any more of these big-spending dreams from council members and commissioners.

See you tomorrow at 5.