Sales tax or property tax – blatant voter coercion

Choose your economic poison. The City Council is asking city voters if you would like your poison to be grape flavored, or cherry flavored. The Council has mandated a property tax, but will “allow” you to approve a sales tax for the School District 544 Hockey Arena instead.

I know, you were told it would be a “Community” ice arena, – but if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck…

The City Council touted that the school district was contributing $1.6 million of “in-kind” contribution to the project, which included providing land for the project. After donations from hockey supporters, the City Council said Fergus Falls’ taxpayers would only pay $3 million to finally own a “community” ice arena.

The City Council isn’t talking publicly about the truth, so let’s review these comments by School District 544 superintendent Jerry Ness,

“The usage of the ice arena would be very similar to the current way we are doing business… The first agreement would be a Ground Lease between the District and the Port Authority to allow the construction of the ice arena on School District property. The School District would retain ownership of the land and building.” The second agreement would be an Operating Lease… whereby we lease the ice arena according to the district’s use of the facility…” ~ Ness, J. (2010, October 20). Schools: ‘Where excellence is expected’. Daily Journal (Fergus Falls, MN)

So there it is – the School District will allow the city to build the school hockey arena, and the School District will retain ownership of the land and building.

In the past, school district voters refused to approve a building levy for School District 544 until the district set aside expensive, nonessential extras like…  ice arenas.  Then someone decided to go after the taxpayers of Fergus Falls for that special school funding. The City Council snookered its own constituents.

It’s like there are two school boards trying to appropriate taxpayer money for District 544 in the current election.  There is the elected District 544 School Board, which follows the law requiring voter approval of its levy. The school referendum question on the ballot is legitimate and important for the education of the district’s children. I will vote “yes” on the legitimate school referendum question.

The fake school board (Fergus Falls City Council) is abusing an economic tool (Fergus Falls Port Authority) to circumvent voter approval… to build a school facility.

Seven City Council members agreed to that plan, sacrificing their integrity as city representatives on the altar of “progress”. Now they have placed two cups of poison in front of city taxpayers in the form of a ballot question.

Whether a sales tax or a property tax, any unnecessary tax will draw important business and consumer dollars out of the local economy to build and operate an expensive school district facility. The posers on the City Council want you to choose the type of poison which they will pour into our city’s economy.

So, do you prefer your poison to have a grape, or cherry flavor? It’s a fool’s question, and I refuse it. It is voter coercion – shame on the City Council.

Fergus Falls’ voters made the grave mistake of electing a city council devoid of leadership qualities or community values. It’s best if we avoid that mistake again. Sometimes the best way to learn to avoid making the same mistake again is to walk through the pain of the mistakes we have made.

It will hurt taxpayers to pay an additional 10% in property taxes for the District 544 Hockey Arena over the next 20 years. It should hurt. I hope it hurts enough to motivate continued participation and dialogue about local government in the public square.

I hope voters are paying attention in this election. I hope they are asking the candidates hard questions and demanding straight answers about the candidate’s values pertaining to local government and representation.

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