Letter To The Editor: One penny at a time over the last 26 years
Editors Note: The views and opinions expressed in this editorial are not necessarily the views or opinions of Oskaloosa News.
One penny at a time over the last 26 years, the Mahaska Community has been building a community. We’ve pooled our pennies to build up our library, law enforcement center and schools to serve residents young and old.
Working together, we got better facilities than any one unit of government could provide using its own resources. One penny at a time, we’ve created a higher standard of living, without raising property taxes.
On May 3, we will vote to continue gathering the penny (or not) to keep building community. Voting Yes will result in better roads, a new recreation and early childhood education center and an environmental learning center. That’s exciting! All need improvement and investment.
Some would say it’s better to invest a larger share in roads. The fact is over 40 percent of our county budget is already invested in roads. That’s good because they serve farm families, who are important to our community and economy.
But, instead of dividing Mahaska friends and neighbors by saying, ‘we want all the penny for our roads,’ should be asking ‘can we do better with existing resources and a fair share of the penny to roads’?
I think we can. Doing so leaves a fair share for priorities like education and recreation.
A recreation and early childhood education center is needed to better serve the Mahaska community. It will sustain and grow the tax base by keeping families here, and attracting newcomers. Without these services, residents and prospective workers will choose to live in other communities who have already figured out how to provide these services in a high quality way.
On May 3 when we go to the polls, we’re directing 20 years of a penny or over $38 million dollars to work for community. Do we want it to build up three needed services that can grow community, or focus a disproportionate share on rural roads leaving important services like recreation and early childhood education without adequate facilities and funding?
Let’s get back to working as a Mahaska community and provide a balanced, fair share of the penny to three projects that build community and serve everyone.
Yes for roads.
Yes for families.
Andy Davis