The High Cost of Empty Promises
The Aberdeen Herald argues that a proposed $310,000 road bond will tax local residents into poverty without delivering viable infrastructure.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On the 23rd of May, voters will be called upon to vote on bonds in the sum of $310,000 for roads. While the measure is popular, the question remains: will we get value received? An examination shows that the county will pay $682,010 in principal and interest over twenty years, requiring an immediate one-sixth increase in property taxes. The proposed spending includes $16,000 for a route through dense forest and swamp between Stevens Prairie and Quinault Lake. Spend $16,000 there, and the eye of an experienced woodsman could scarcely tell where the money had gone. The distribution of these funds lacks equity, and Aberdeen should cast a solid vote against the proposition until we can afford to build roads that actually function.
“Putting this money into roads in the western part of the county, in the manner proposed, is simply taking one-sixth of your belongings from you, and throwing it into the woods.”
Debates over municipal bonding, tax burdens, and the efficacy of public works projects are as central to Aberdeen's civic life today as they were in 1891.
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