Dear Editor,
I agree we need to protect our quality of life in Oakdale. We all want good police and fire protection, green parks, streets swept, and the senior center to stay open. Passing a sales tax increase isn’t the way to do it. We need to demand the new City Council show some leadership in making the right decisions with our current tax dollars. To spend $15,000 on a useless tax poll study, $15,000 on a bogus investigation, firing the city manager whose payout was $185,000, hiring a part time city manager for $90,000, and paying out over $350,000 to settle an employee lawsuit. Just a quick tally of the known wasted dollars equals over $650,000 this year alone! Since a starting Police Officer makes $58,000 in salary plus another $40,000 in retirement and benefits per year, the wasted dollars could have easily funded four public safety personnel with money left over for green parks, street sweeping and keeping the senior center open, all without a sales tax increase. Since when does raising the price of all taxable goods in town become an incentive for folks to shop in Oakdale? It would just be another reason for shoppers to go to Riverbank where items will be less expensive and Oakdale loses. Proponents keep saying it’s just a small amount of money. Tell that to a senior citizen on a fixed income where every penny counts to survive. I commend Council Member Tom Dunlop for having the understanding and courage to not sign the voters ballot statement in support of a sales tax increase. We don’t need any more new taxes. VOTE NO ON O!
Farrell Jackson