Fort Smith, AR is another DC Swamp—32 years & no results from the 1% street/sewer tax, and the tax meter is running rampantly. January 23, 2017

Another Shell Game about to be foisted on Fort Smith citizens by new City Manager (phantom/has never been introduced publicly) Carl Gefkin, the Mayor and the City Directors.

Shell Games are also known as Short-Cons because they are easy & quick to pull off. Case in point, Fort Smith City Manager & Directors.
A brief background pertaining to Fort Smith citizen’s addiction to taxes (shell games & the highest in Arkansas) must be constructed so as to understand the magnitude of the City Manager’s proposed extension of the already 32 year old Shell Game that Fort Smith has experienced, which if left up to the phantom City Manager & Directors will result in a 57 year Shell Game.

September, 1985 a 1% city street & sewer tax was passed because of an Environmental Protection Act (EPA) decree (sewers), precisely the same EPA demands that were placed a second time (Dec. 2, 2014) on the city of Fort Smith that resulted in a $300,000 fine and a $400 million sewer edict to be completed in 12 years. Of course, the $400 million, due to interest, etc. will balloon to over $500 million during the 12 year mandate.

The 1% street & sewer tax that was specifically dedicated for street and sewer improvements have generated well over $600 million in the first 25 years of its existence, and the sewer tax meter is now into its 32nd year. Where did the $600+ million go? Certainly not on streets & sewers as demanded. With the $600 million spent & abused, coupled to the 2nd $400 million EPA demand will result in far more than double taxation and will be close if not surpassing $ 3/4 billion in taxes.

At the first 10 year sunset, voted on and passed, why was the word sewer and/or “drainage improvement” removed from the official tax title & now referred to simply as the 1% street tax.

Enter new City Manager, Carl Gefkin, the Shell Game “conjurer” and his 3 peas—the Mayor, the City Directors & the City Attorney.
Let the Shell Game continue—Fort Smith citizens are always ready for another tax plucking measure.

Here is their game plan. As with all City Managers, Gefkin is trained to carry out all federal mandates, acts, laws, etc. while posing as a servant of the citizens who pay his salary.

Recall, if the original 1 cent street/sewer redemption tax had been legally & appropriately used, in all likelihood the sewers would have been refurbished in first 5 years…1990. Instead, 32 years later most streets & sewers are still in a state of disrepair. (All the while the PC crowd clamors for mismanaged, ill-conceived trails, ball complexes, museums, Avenue businesses (new-age Urban Renewal) & other non-essentials. These are all being subsidized with taxpayer dollars to cronies, property owners, contractors, regionalism, 501c3’s & 4’s with no transparency in the bid process if one exists.)

Fort Smith City Manager Gefkin stated January 19, 2017, “Trying to do it in that short period (12 years) of time we’re finding out now, is not realistic. We need more time to do it”. (Is 32 years not long enough??)

I would suggest to government man Gefkin two things: Tighten the financial belt & run the city government as a business (which you may know nothing about)…cut funding for ALL non-essentials until this mandate is completed as agreed to by the current city government. Mr. Gefkin, you were well aware of the 2nd EPA mandate when you accepted the job. Furthermore, you knew that this was the same Board that negotiated the 12 year deal for reclaiming sewers and these Board Members are waist deep in incompetency, waste, & corruption in this Shell Game.

Now the bombshell! Jan. 19, 2017 introduced to the public his short time Shell Game: “Gefkin said, ‘possibly extending the decree (EPA) to 25 years or so “a shot in the dark”. This is the most dangerous & outrageous proposal entertained by City Directors that has ever come before the F.S. City Board. This would be a mandate to turn sewer improvement into a 57 year project, no end in sight and getting this Board & future Boards hundreds of millions of dollars to carry out ill-advised projects.

WHERE DID THE $600 MILLION GO AND WHERE & TO WHOM WILL THE FUTURE MONEY GO? QUI BONO???

A quotation by Robert Yates, one of our Founders…”I can scarcely contemplate a greater calamity that could befall this country than be loaded with a debt exceeding their ability to ever discharge. If this be a just remark, it is unwise and improvident to vest in the general government a power to borrow at discretion, without any limitation or restriction”.

Joe McCutchen
arkansasfreedom.net