Unnecessary tax

Aurora citizens have a big decision to make May 14 regarding a proposed 1-1/2 percent city sales tax, and based on a lack of details and understanding of this issue voters should just say no.
There has been considerable local discussion and debate since city leaders floated this idea back in February, though from the very beginning there has been little actual financial data to study and consider. Not until this week’s edition, published just seven days before voters go to the polls, have we seen the kind of dialogue needed from city leaders, though that was offered indirectly through a letter to the editor and advertisements written and funded by city supporters. That’s confusing, and frankly disappointing.
A tone of distrust and angst voiced on Facebook has been troubling, suggesting that social media is not the proper forum for an exchange of historical background, numbers and documented facts. Again, that could have been avoided with a more transparent effort to discuss the issue before it was drafted into a vague resolution, which is hopefully a lesson learned.
This important community conversation could have and would have been very different if city officials had offered a financial analysis showing what has changed in terms of city revenues and expenses, and how, specifically, a 1-1/2 percent sales tax would benefit local citizens. As written, Resolution 24-05 allows our current elected and appointed city leaders, as well as those well into the future, to spend significantly more tax dollars on essentially any and all aspects of city operations. It looks and feels like a blank check, which conservative and fiscally-responsible citizens have been taught not to sign.
Reflecting the tone of tax-based conversations throughout Nebraska, however, there may in fact be support here in Aurora for a strategy to shift the tax burden some from a property tax to a sales tax. This resolution, as written, doesn’t come close to offering a guarantee that would happen.
As for the question of why shouldn’t Aurora charge a sales tax like most communities of similar size, the answer is visible in many top-notch facilities all over town, and yet invisible in other ways. A growth formula based on volunteerism, private and philanthropic investments, and cooperation with city and community leaders has been called Aurora’s “secret sauce” by some, but by whatever definition this lower reliance on property taxes is working. 
Gov. Jim Pillen echoed what many state and business leaders have said over the years when he spoke during a ground-breaking ceremony at the Mission Critical site in August, where a $20 million project is now under construction. “Just so you know, when anybody in the state drives down 14 or 34 and comes through Aurora, you know, there’s only one word,” he said. “Wow! What’s going on here? So congratulations. I think you figured out that together you can ... And the other beautiful thing is in Nebraska, none of us cares who gets credit. Let’s just get together and get it done.”
Aurora is getting it done and has so much momentum now on so many fronts, reflected in housing and business development projects all over town. That growth will provide the tax resources needed to keep this community moving forward, which means the best decision May 14 is to reject an unnecessary sales tax.
Whatever voters decide next week at the polls, the spirit of cooperation between elected and volunteer leaders must remain strong. Cooperation is a key part of what makes good things happen here, and we trust that will continue. 
— Kurt Johnson