Speak Out 5/22/20

Wear mask

Wearing a mask is too easy. It's responsible. It's caring for your at-risk family members and neighbors. And, even if you don't care about the people you're putting at risk by not wearing a mask, then you should care about shutting down our economy when there's a second outbreak. Churches and church leaders should be setting the example.

Bad decision

Let's look at the facts. 1. The Cape city budget was seriously strained as the year opened. 2. A cyber-attack on the city's computer network created a huge repair bill. 3. COVID-19 caused a massive, already two-month-long loss of revenue from hotel and restaurant taxes and sales tax. 4. State funding is being cut due to COVID-19, indicating that Cape may be forced to foot the bill for things normally paid for out of state funding. 5. Jefferson Elementary is located in one of the most crime-ridden parts of town. 6. The population in the Jefferson Elementary area is declining; the majority of the city's population has moved in the exact opposite direction. 7. The now-council-approved leisure pool is not going to meet the conditions voters very narrowly approved when the issue was put on the ballot at a time of the year when voter turnout is notoriously low. Can anyone outside the city council and those benefiting financially from the building of the new LEISURE pool explain how, given these facts, it makes any sense at all to build a unnecessary, high-ticket item at this time and in that part of town?

City spending

The Cape mayor spent several minutes complaining about lost tax revenue, so they raised tax rates. And then he spent another several minutes complaining that Cape businesses don't get to tax Internet sales for products they don't manufacture, advertise, sale, or ship. Then he spent about 15 seconds explaining why they voted to approve $10,000,000 to build a new leisure swimming pool and to rehab another.