Public forum, March 10

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March 10, 2010

Anonymous Pharos-Tribune Wed Mar 10, 2010, 08:44 AM EST

Candidate should

detail budget cuts

In a time when the economic outlook for our society is so uncertain, we often embrace the promise to see taxes cut. But we can’t do so blindly. We have a responsibility and a duty as voters and taxpayers to ask the question of those running for office and making claims to cut our taxes, “How”?

I was recently handed a flier for George Franklin, who is seeking the position of Sheriff of Cass County. In his flyer he claims to have a plan to cut $250,000 from our taxes. While this seems great on the surface, as a police officer myself with over 10 years of service who lives in Cass County, I must ask Mr. Franklin, “How?”

How do you plan to save us $250,000 without compromising the safety and security of this community? How do you plan to save us $250,000 without asking the already underpaid deputies of Cass County to make further concessions that would hurt them even worse, forcing morale to go lower, and in turn compromise the community’s safety and security? I know firsthand what major cutbacks can do to undermine a good law enforcement program.

You get what you pay for, and sometimes, we have to bite the bullet and pay to ensure we are getting the best public safety services we can. And having spoken with those in a position of authority, I know that the council and commissioners of Cass County have already cut out pretty much all the fat there is in the budget.

The current budget for the Cass County Sheriff’s Department stands at just over $2.8 million, with just over $1.4 million each allocated to law enforcement operations and correctional operations. A nearly 10 percent cut in that overall budget is, quite frankly, something that seems impossible.

So I am respectfully asking you, Mr. Franklin, to please explain before the primary elections how you intend to make such unimaginable cuts while still holding the thin line between peace and chaos. Thank you.

Jeff Packard

Walton

Tax bills should be coming soon

Please clarify for Cass County’s Pharos-Tribune readers that property tax statements will be mailed in late March, not late April, as stated in a recent editorial. I am the Cass County treasurer, and my office has already begun printing and stuffing tax bills for the May 10 spring collection.

The information in the editorial appears to be from the state’s Web site. State statute allows for a 15-day notice of tax, so an April 23 mailing date would still allow us to collect on May 10. That will not be the case in Cass County.

My goal is to have the bills in the mail no later than March 31.

Dawn Conner

Cass County treasurer

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