April 16, 2007
Dear Friend:
Tomorrow, April 17, is a very important day for our citizens to vote for a new way of paying for our roads and infrastructure. I am very grateful to our volunteer citizens committee, Citizens for Rebuilding Rockford, for their tireless effort on this referendum. For the latest information on the referendum, please go to their website, http://www.rebuildingrockford.com.
Below is my column from yesterday's Rockford Register Star in which I detail the important reasons to support the referendum. I hope that I can count on you to vote YES tomorrow and move our city toward a brighter future.
All my best,
Mayor Larry Morrissey
Rockford Register Star column:
Let’s Invest in our City’s Future: Support the Road ReferendumOne of my best days so far as Mayor was the grand opening of the Lowe’s Distribution Center. That morning of March 13th was warmer than usual, and as I stood at the podium and looked out at the hundreds of newly hired employees, I couldn’t help but think how close we were to not getting the facility in Rockford. It took a lot of work, a bit of luck, and major investment in roadways. Lowe’s Distribution Center is here because of the excellent roads serving the facility, which allows Lowe’s to ship products in and out of our area very quickly. To continue progress and to grow more jobs, we must make improvements and investments to roads and other vital infrastructure like bridges and flood control. Most people agree on this. The remaining question is, however, what is the best way to pay for those investments: the old way or the new way?
Under the “old way”, we paid by voluntarily raising our property taxes, year after year. Here’s what that gave us: inadequate funds, high property taxes, 100 percent of the burden on Rockfordians, and over $50 million in debt. It’s high time out-of-towners paid their fair share. Under the old way, they drove on our roads to get to work, shop, and visit, but they didn’t buy vehicle stickers and didn’t pay property taxes.
Now let’s discuss the alternative. Through the “new way”, we actually cut in half the cost of our roads because we eliminate costly interest and get the out-of-towners to chip in their fair share. That makes common sense. We build more roads, not more debt! We will actually get more roadwork done under the new way, but Rockford residents collectively will pay less than we did the old way by approximately $1 million per year. Then, why on earth would anyone continue to press for the old way? Well, any significant change, even for the better, needs to be properly understood and communicated. This year, the group of business people and residents who formed the Citizens for Rebuilding Rockford committee have done a great job of getting out the word. There is a very detailed five-year capital plan that explains what capital projects will be constructed. Also, there is a five-year sunset provision on the referendum this year so voters can hold elected officials accountable.
Why else might someone not vote for the sales tax? Fear. The opposition has worked hard to confuse and alarm the voters and generally spread “distrust” of government. Their effort is to talk about everything but the roads. They have even run ads suggesting that the “tax is on everything” when they know it does not cover service items like hair cuts, legal or financial work or auto repair labor; and they know that it doesn’t cover retail goods like groceries, cars, or medicine. In fact, the opposition continues to suggest in their ads that the proposed sales tax will result in a worse tax climate for Rockford even though they have publicly admitted that sales tax is the best financial option when they have had to put forth an answer to the question of property tax versus sales tax.
We have now the highest property tax rate of any Illinois city over 70,000 people. Over the years, this has caused an exodus of residents and businesses out of Rockford. Some people haven’t had to vote for a referendum to change their property tax rate; they have voted with their feet by moving to areas with lower rates. Make no mistake about it, this referendum guarantees a lower property tax rate. This referendum is about better roads and bridges and other critical infrastructure. This referendum will encourage more middle class families to choose Rockford. This referendum is about Rockford’s future. Being a competitive City means bringing down our property tax rate and investing in a way that makes Rockford an attractive place for homeowners and businesses. On April 17, please vote “YES” for our future.