It's a start. It's worth a try. There's nothing to lose.
Texarkana, Ark., City Manager Kenny Haskin's plan to shore up city coffers is all those things and more.
It's welcomed and it's needed.
Haskin is proposing an annual voluntary fee of $10 to property tax payers. Money collected would be used to boost the general fund and could then be directed at a variety of shortfalls the city is having trouble funding. The airport, police and fire personnel, animal shelter, economic development and capital improvements might all be beneficiaries.
The city's Board of Directors must vote the measure in.
It's no secret the city's financial footing has become tenuous. Revenues have decreased in a number of areas, and expenses have gone up. Cuts to the tune of $600,000 have already been made. Texarkana, Ark., is having trouble meeting its financial obligations.
The city has had difficulty coming up with money to pay police and firefighters at the level voters requested in 1996. They have trouble even fixing potholes. They have outstanding commitments to other projects they can't fulfill.
Property and sales tax rates in the city are at the maximum levels state laws allow. And when you get right down to it, there aren't many options residents would find palpable.
Maybe if travellers would fill all those hotel rooms along Interstate 30 that were built so optimistically during the last decade, the outlook would be better and would justify the city's investment in the special district.
But that has yet to happen.
What has happened is the city has been forced into fiscal triage with no end it sight and no way to be proactive or progressive.
In an attempt to add some dollars to kitty, Haskin is simply saying why don't we let our residents chip in, pass the proverbial hat, so to speak.
This is not a unique idea. Variations of this tactic have been tried elsewhere successfully. But it is one that might be viewed as less threatening in this tax-averse climate.
Northeast of here in less populous Hempstead County, for example, voters agreed to a $10 "voluntary" property tax to increase deputy salaries. In December, County officials announced the gifts totalled about $25,000.
The money was divvied up among deputies based on longevity. The lowest rate was $500, the highest $2,500. And the county was proud and thankful its citizens stepped up.
Now Texarkana, Ark., has a population almost a third larger than Hempstead County.
It's tax roll claims more than 28,000 potential contributors.
If everyone participated, that's almost $300,000 annually.
That's not going to happen. No reasonable person would consider that plausible.
But what if half the people that could, did? That would be $150,000 a year, $1.5 million in 10 years.
What if a third did? That would be $100,000.
That could help address deficiencies. It might give the city some much-needed maneuverability.
What if 10 percent did? Hey, let's fill some potholes.
Beyond doubt, the city needs some help.
It has lost revenue from alcohol sales going elsewhere as more and more of the region moves from dry to wet, busting down the monopoly Texarkana once enjoyed. It has lost revenue from declining franchise fees.
As it stands now, your city is having trouble meeting its most basic obligations. If the city's Board of Directors votes this measure into place, you will have a chance to make a difference.
You don't have to-you could opt out-but you could. It's your call.
It's not a perfect plan. It will not begin to address all the city's needs.
But it will help-if its citizens do-and that's a step forward.