End Housing Hoax
“We do not need to build any more workforce housing. Simply give teachers, first responders, hospital staff, etc the right of first refusal on existing housing as it comes onto the resale market.
SPET 2019 Minefield
Has SPET-2019 gone too far? Is Big Government abusing a useful tax and stealing the people’s penny? Apparently “yes.” More and more, SPET is misused to cover local government mistakes and budget shortfalls.
SPET: Bundled and Bamboozled
Can we trust the SPET Ballot? There’s $77-million in spending proposed; are projects described fairly? Descriptions have been beautified. They’ve been highly polished to sound more attractive. And there’s a good bit of ‘bundling’ in some of them, too.
Same Garbage, New Shiny Package
Big Government never stops trying to get what they want: Your Money. After failing in a previous SPET, our electeds pushed their social engineering agenda even harder in 2016, introducing the 1-penny sales tax for housing and transportation. That failed so they pulled the ol’ switcharoo and reworded their proposals on the 2017 SPET.
Swindling the People’s Penny
SPET 2019 is a radical change. The community was locked-out of the process. Our electeds killed the community-driven SPET. They began innocently, saying: We need a couple small projects to keep the 1-penny SPET tax alive. We electeds will do the small 2019 projects. Later we’ll have community-driven SPETs again. Didn’t happen! Here is the Other Side of the Story […]
Shrink the Housing Department
Jackson’s housing exactions are being challenged, and rightfully so. When given a choice, voters refuse to fund housing. They keep saying NO. But our electeds don’t listen. They keep ‘hunting’ the money wherever they can find it. Our Housing Department was expanded two years ago (exactly what voters didn’t want). Pure folly. We now need to shrink it again–limit it […]
Bundling is Manipulation
Local Government has chosen a dark road. Heretofore voters approved each individual SPET project at the voting booth. That’s over. Pork barrel politics may soon become regular business. Our Specific Purpose Excise Tax once benefited local residents. Money generated by the extra penny tax paid for the fairgrounds’ Heritage Arena, a new library wing, and our interconnected pathway system Here […]
Housing Only Begets More Housing
In government’s mad rush to build a house for everyone that wants to live in Jackson Hole, they’ve alienated and angered many longtime citizens. Taxpaying residents who thought they bought a house on a quiet, single-family street are watching their property values plummet and their neighborhood ruined. Local government is now playing real estate developer – buying the lot nextdoor […]
Save the Genevieve Block
A broad community effort to protect the Genevieve Block is gaining momentum. Locals want preservation over the massive hotel the developer proposed on West Broadway. While Friday’s kick-off was a big success with 335 grassroots donors, a whole lot of work still needs to be done. Here is the Other Side of the Story of May 1:
Lodging Tax is a Barometer
This general election is important. Our votes will have long lasting effects. Some candidates for office have unspoken agendas. Some are focused on building their own businesses and personal legacies. Others pledge to build government housing and buy buses because they believe it is good politics. Here is the Other Side of the Story of October 30:
