Imagine my shock when I read reports in last week’s News-Herald
that all of the Cook County commissioners and the entire Grand Marais city council went on record in favor of spending 33.5 million dollars in federal grant money and another estimated 20 million dollars of sales tax proceeds.
I couldn’t have been more surprised if I had been told that Ronald McDonald wears big shoes.
Proponents of the various community projects receiving these monies are, not too surprisingly, also quite vocal about the benefits of all this spending. While some of these projects may have merit to voters, many could be funded by other means. There is no pick and choose…one size fits all… and you will pay for funding broadband if you vote “YES” to either ballot question.
Much of the sales tax spending will not be “pay as you go” but will be largely funded by issuing bonds which will incur a large, yet undisclosed, amount of interest.
Perhaps you’ve recently heard that the Grand Marais City Council has assumed 1.6 million dollars in debt that the Economic Development Authority cannot repay and will now issue bonds to cover this shortfall. Interest will accrue over the next twenty years while the city attempts to formulate a plan to repay this money.
I fear the county will repeat this fiasco on a much grander scale by attempting to fund countywide broadband service and the multiple community projects,
You will receive a mail-in ballot for the Broadband Initiative and 1% Sales Tax vote on November 3. I would have liked to see a disclaimer printed at the bottom of each ballot stating: “CAUTION: Voting ‘YES’ to either choice may cause local officials to jeopardize your financial future.”
The proponents of broadband and the 1% sales tax are singing a tune that echoes a line from an old Merle Haggard song: We’ll all be drinking that free Bubble Up and eating
that Rainbow Stew.
Zip up your wallets…the circus is in town!
Bob LaMettry
Pike Lake Road
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