Beware. You are about to be bombarded by an advertising blitz extolling the virtue of spending all the new money generated by the local option sales tax. We are already used to paying the extra so why not continue? All presentations will be sincere and heartfelt but most will be a bit shy in telling the rest of the story.

Yes the city "needs" the extra spending. Yes good things have been done with the money in the past. But you know what? I suspect that the city would get by just fine if the city sales tax issue didn't pass. In my opinion the city could survive just fine on property taxes, vehicle registration fees, gas tax allocation, free labor from the work camp, water sales, trash/garbage fees, sewer fees, the KN franchise fee, NPPD in-lieu-of-tax revenue, electrical utility fees, cable TV franchise fees, handi-bus grants and donations, Senior Center grants and donations, airport advertising and construction grants, hangar rents and airport leasing fees, and did I miss any?

Actually the current budget document lists 49 separate line items for revenue including the ubiquitous miscellaneous item.

Where the people need to be investing is our future. That can be done by voting YES for the ½-cent local option sales tax money and its accompanying spending plan. One half of that money (1/4 cent of the sales tax) would be allocated by the Council to the McCook Economic Development Corp. MEDC will use those funds to attract economic enterprises to this area plus enhancing those businesses that are already here.

To date MEDC has existed on donations, a great portion from individuals and private organizations but some your tax money passed on by the City of McCook and Red Willow County. MEDC has done great things for the economic well being of this area by bringing in Valmont, the Work Ethic Camp, the two huge dairies north of town, many smaller projects plus owning the Reserve building on Airport Road.

If the sales tax option to fund economic development passes, the City and County donations will cease and MEDC would be funded in most part by your sales tax dollars. They would continue as in past years combing through every grant proposal out there, answering every inquiry about this area and every request for bid that any company in the world is looking for relocation or start up possibilities.

Those possibilities number in the hundreds each month and of course only a few could even possibly fit this area but it is important to have someone out there looking. Even though destined for the MEDC, the McCook City Council will still have oversight of all that tax money.

The other half of the Economic Development dollar, the ¼ cent, will be kept by the City to do infrastructure improvements to include long delayed water and sewer line upgrades, street improvement and possibly demolition of derelict building along "the bricks" as well as unused abandoned residences.

There are way too many buildings in McCook that need to be occupied or removed before they become eyesores. The infrastructure is already in place, bought and paid for, so if the old can be removed, new buildings can be built to suit new business or much-needed parking made available.

Actually if the city feels that they "need" more revenue annexing the many nearby housing areas, and a few businesses, bordering the city limits, would be a quick solution.

Funding local government with property tax has a long, proud history in Nebraska and has the advantage of being inflation proof. If the value of taxable property increases, tax revenue increases. If the value of property decreases then taxes collected decrease and it is time to do something about restoring valuations.

I am sure that each property owner is well aware that his valuation hasn't shown any big increases, so why is there a sudden need for local government to spent more tax money?

A vote for the ½-cent sales tax and its accompanying spending plan is a vote for the future of our area. Continuing the one-cent sales tax will only encourage city government to continue to grow, unnecessarily in my opinion.

That is the way I see it.