WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?! SPECIFICALLY, THE PENSION FUNDS FOR FIRE & POLICE AND TAX REVENUES FOR SEWER & WATER. November 17, 2014
Another burning question, what division or divisions of government did the money come from and upon whose authority to direct taxpayer monies to fund the nascent Marshal’s Museum and who claims ownership of the MM? The MM has from the very outset been billed as a “private endeavor”, and has proved to be anything but, obviously a lie. Millions of taxpayer dollars diverted without taxpayer permission and funneled into the MM project without taxpayer knowledge. These taxpayer dollars came from Washington DC, the state of Arkansas, Sebastian County, and the city of Fort Smith. A serpentine project by any standard.
Who is calling the shots and who are the beneficiaries of the proposed Marshal’s Museum? Could the beneficiaries be in part Richard Griffin, Sam Sicard, the Westphal’s, Jim Dunn & his minions, and perhaps numerous others?
Where are City Manager Ray Gosack’s hands in this suspicious conundrum?
The citizens have every right to know the total taxpayer dollars that the city of Fort Smith & Sebastian County have dumped into the MM project beginning at its inception to the present, and could the aforementioned shortages be attributed to diverting city funds to the MM?
The Sunday Times Record “BUDGET OPTIONS DIVIDE LEADERS”. The options appear to be tax, spend, and increase the size of government.
The “Leaders” solution to solve deficit spending is to give (without available funds) across the board raises to city employees and commence a new ultra expensive Agenda 21 project designated as Trails & Bikeways.
Pay raises should be based on merit only. The average pay for those citizens that work in the private sector is $42,800 yearly (Economist Simon Black). Senator Rand Paul stated recently that government employees at all levels are in the range of $100,000 or more. This number may be arguable but points out the disparity between government and the private sector. Never should a government employee, totally dependent on the private sector, be paid more than comparable private sector employees.
Furthermore: There is no available funding for the city’s forced medication program—Fluoridation.
Then there is the dubious, arcane “deal” involving Senator Jake Files, the City Directors, and the 8 softball fields’ complex. Is this a political payoff?
Then the all-important matter of the projected shortage in funding for Fire & Police pensions. Why is this issue just now being brought to the attention of city taxpayers, and where did the money go? The future shortage should have been forecasted well in advance and corrective measures taken.
Aside from the surreptitious Marshal’s Museum affair, the 30 year, at least, ongoing sewer & surface water problems still have not been corrected! This is an atrocity. Why? The city road & sewer tax has been in effect for 29 years and has received hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to sewer & surface waters…where did this money go and how was it spent?
The city government, now using legislative force, is bent on creating an additional ongoing sewer tax along with a covey of other taxes, without citizen approval.
From existing facts, one can conclude that the Fort Smith city government is either corrupt, incompetent and/or irresponsible…which is it?
Who is really pulling the strings? Is it City Manager Ray Gosack & the downtown self-serving city “restoration” crew or is it the Directors?
The Fort Smith city government is bloated in practice and numbers.
Citizens, if you continue to stand for the gross, forced usurpations of your money by the Fort Smith city government, then there is merit in the recent statement by Dr. Jonathan Gruber re Obamacare.
Joe McCutchen
P.S. Director Keith Lau stated in the article “Directors are philosophically on the same page”. Exactly what philosophy and what page??
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