Will street funding continue with tax?

If I have a choice between raising property taxes or voting yes for the extension of the local-option sales tax to fix streets, I will vote yes for the option tax. I would like clarification on one question: In addition to option taxes collected for streets, will the City Council continue to allocate the same amount of the budget toward street repairs as it currently does?

Nobody wants to pay higher taxes. People who reside outside of our city limits who use our infrastructure will help pay for its upkeep if the option tax extension passes.

It is easy for people, including myself, to play Monday morning quarterback and second guess City Council's decisions. The bottom line is these people were hired or elected to make decisions to the best of their ability after studying the pros and cons of the issues. In most cases, they have more information available to them and a better understanding of the issues than most of us.

As far as purchasing the downtown hotel, give them some slack. The purchase might be a fantastic investment in the long run for our city. It is way too early to pass judgment on this issue.

Steven C. Carfrae

Cedar Rapids