Commentary

Vote for me, I’ll give you 1/2 penny!

Jim Robison, candidate for Decator, Illinois mayor has an interesting idea. In 2001, the city council raised taxes, using a projected $3 million shortfall for the next budget year. A penny tax now generates $7.5 million – Robison is quick to note that the city only needed a half penny, and that the other half should be returned to the taxpayer. “My stand is we need to cut the tax immediately,” he said. “I want a vote as soon as we go into office. Then we would go to work to slash the budget. We raised the tax twice as much as we had to. There ought to be a surplus there they hadn’t spent. There’s no doubt to me there’s waste, probably at least 10 percent can be cut out of the budget right away.” In addition, he’s also interested in contracting out work to save money!