A Classic Example Of "Lack Of Communication...."

This is a  clip from the November 6th article in the Buffalo Reflex.

Mead said he mentioned earlier cleanup efforts in the letters but never directly said the tax would fund such efforts.

“I think this is a classic example of lack of communication and people hearing what they want to hear,” Mead said.

Mead said he can’t point to anything specific he has said that would lead people to think the sales tax was meant to fund cleanup efforts. He said he hasn’t purposely misled anyone and didn’t think he had mistakenly misled anyone.

Here are some specific examples...

THE HOME OFFICE OF ANDREW MEAD
602 W. Nixon, Buffalo, Missouri 65622
(417) 848-9951 g ualawhog@hotmail.com

Greetings,

It has been brought to my attention that some of our local businesses are against the proposed half-cent sales tax increase. For the record, I will state that the proposed sales tax is intended, along with other benefits, to directly aid local businesses.

Two successful town hall meetings have resulted in the community loudly and clearly conveying the need to clean up our community and bring jobs to Buffalo. Our citizens are tired of the run down condition of our city and they are tired of seeing their children grow up and move away to find work in other places.

Some things that can bring growth to Buffalo would be an improved appearance of our city and an improved appearance of our school buildings. Maintaining our city parks and an overall cleaning up of our city must be a priority. While our streets are in fair repair, our sidewalks, lighting, appearance of our city buildings, and green spaces need much improvement. There are many federal programs which provide funds to enhance these projects but most require the city to provide matching funds. A modest and temporary sales tax increase would allow the city to move forward in this endeavor. New projects along with the current cleanup efforts will improve not only the functionality of our city, but the marketability of our city as we seek new economic growth.

Scare tactics are flooding the rumor mill that people are willing to drive to other communities to avoid the added tax and thereby save fifty cents on their $100.00 purchase, but these are simply doomsday scare tactics. If this were the case, then we would have already seen an increase in our sales as Buffalo's tax rate is less than most neighboring cities. (See enclosed brochure)
Where actual city tax is concerned this might be true but Dallas County as a whole has higher taxes than it's neighboring counties... This is a misleading statement... Fact Check Here.

As business owners (I, too, operate a business in Buffalo) we are taught to respect capitalism and to compete in the economy. A healthy market is characterized by competition and growth. Our economy is no longer growing. As a business owner, I ask you to look around Buffalo. Who are your competitors? Do you have competitors? Have your competitors died out? Is your business slowly dying out?

I have worked diligently through town hall meetings, the creation of an Aesthetics Committee, the creation of an Economic Development Committee, meetings with economic developers and community planners and with our Aldermen. The proposed half cent sales tax increase is not intended to fruitlessly burden our community, rather it is intended as a conservative investment in our community that will pay dividends for our future.

In order to bring jobs back to Buffalo, we must compete with surrounding communities. A cleaner and safer Buffalo can compete with our neighboring cities who already charge a higher rate of tax. The proposed half cent sales tax increase will only last three years and will help us to catch up with our surrounding communities. When we compete for job growth, we compete against our neighbors.

Again, I ask you to reflect on our community. Think about what you see outside of your building. Think about how our neighbors keep their community. While we have an abundance of pride here in Buffalo, we have failed to maintain and preserve the world around us. Maintenance and growth in our infrastructure will lead to growth in our economy. Growth in our economy will lead to more money in your pocket.