Fayetteville, Sales Tax Bond Election

The city of Fayetteville has put on their website documents handed out to the City Council during a presentation on the bonds. The proposed sales tax goes to fund the completion of the Wastewater System Improvement Project (WSIP) and to complete Phase I of the transportation Improvement Project (TIP).
I've particular noted within this document that if the bond issue for the WSIP failed, then the City Council would have to increase the sewer and service charges.

the average user pays $56.25 per month for water/sewer/solid waste services, and that bill would increase to $63.54 after the rate increase.

So, damned if you do and damned if you don't. It no longer becomes a decision of whether or not you'll pay, but how you'll pay. Me, I think I'd prefer the tax. This way everyone who shops in Fayetteville will pay for WSIP not just Fayetteville residents. Hey, spread the pain around.

The proposed TIP will cost approximately 68 million dollars and

If these questions fail, street improvements will be paid through the annual street CIP (about $2.5 million per year compared to $68 million in bond issues over 8 years)

Yeah, do the math. It would take about 27 years to get those roads paid for. I don't think I want to wait that long. Traffic in Fayetteville already sucks. With all the new housing developments, just think what the traffic will be like in 27 years. I'd rather pay the pain of taxes than to endure the current roads for the next 20 years.

This table shows the taxes for other cities in the area. The proposed taxes will give Fayetteville a tax rate the same as Springdale and Fort Smith and just ¼ ¢ more than Rogers and Bentonville. I can live with that.