Dear Editor:
The Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce is pretending to start another "study" to determine whether a port on the Missouri River is feasible.
The results are already concluded and probably in someone's desk at the Chamber. That will be secured with a 1 percent sales tax for about 10 years raising $40 million. A property tax will be avoided because Chamber members own a lot of property and do not want to pay their fair share. The vote will be scheduled for August so many people will not vote, but the Chamber can depend on 5,000 votes from their members. The sales tax probably will not pass if there is organized opposition and reasonably fair reporting by the media. Fairness is not a certainty since newspapers, radio, and television stations are members of the Chamber.
Between $20,000 and $80,000 will be spent on the campaign. A very brief slogan will be plastered all over town and in the News Tribune, but avoid specifics. "Strip joints," "opportunity," and "It's Time" are examples from past elections.
The money will be administered by a board whose decision will be final with no input from the public allowed. An effort will be made to keep the meetings secret although legal by only giving meeting notices in the most remote place possible. All members of the board will be members of the Chamber. Local builders, steel fabricators, asphalt companies, brick manufacturers and, engineering companies will make a lot of money. All are members of the Chamber.
Voters should keep in mind past schemes of the Chamber when evaluating the "study" of the port. The Transformation Tax which was defeated 60-40 percent and county zoning which was defeated 65-35 percent in the area to be zoned are the most recent.
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