Your Opinion: Redirect tax money

Dear Editor:

In the July 3 News Tribune, an article stated Public Works needed $15 million for repairs to the Jefferson City stormwater system. The Jefferson City capital improvements sales tax we are to vote on in August will generate $25 million with $14.75 million going to Public Works.

However, only $1.8 million of those funds are to be used for stormwater projects. Public Work's solution for dealing with this shortfall is to form a storm water utility and levy a separate stormwater tax.

Creating a new public utility and imposing new taxes does not seem to be necessary. Rather, we should redirect more of the capital improvements sales tax revenue to address the needs of existing infrastructure and repair the stormwater system.

Also, there is $2.5 million in the sales tax for contingency that could be used to address this problem. Once again I say, we can't keep building newer and bigger without maintaining our existing assets and infrastructure.

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