ICON’s support of a 1% sales tax increase to enhance the infrastructure of the city was defeated by one swing vote. The Council did approve a .5% increase, but that will only help fill 325 miles of pot holes for the next three years.
There is no money in the ordinance for maintaining the other 325 miles and certainly none for any new projects. The city will still be in a catch-up mode during the next two years of this Council’s tenure. We’re not going to get ahead of the curve, and our streets and other infrastructure continue to deteriorate.
In addition to our fight to get the garbage ordinance changed, we have work ahead of us for the next two years to find city leadership with a greater vision of how to create more viable neighborhoods for all areas of our historic city.