Allow city time

Editor, The Commercial:

Let’s take a second and breathe, lean not on our own understanding, emotion and paid advertisement. Let’s acknowledge the facts:

The Alice initiative community development already offers down-payment assistance for potential homeowners. Go Forward pays for the down-payment assistance from a $60,000 United Way donation, not from the five-eighths-cents sales tax. The bank covers the mortgage like any other bank.

The Aquatic Center started under former Mayor Carl Redus. The estimated cost was $12 million. The “city” took out a $4 million dollar bond. Go Forward pays the bond payment. The City Council could do this.

The community center: $1 million.

Streetscape: not a dime.

Tearing down houses: The city already has a department that does that and for half of the cost. If they had the money, they could tear down even more and do the asbestos testing.

Downtown buildings will cost a business owner $600,000 to retrofit for their business. None of the buildings acquired have an investor. $1.3 million plus $900k to fix the front facade of three buildings that are just shells.

There are plans that some people prefer over Go Forward.

The city budgets the grant writer’s salary out of the mayor’s office budget.

There is an investigation by the state police for the misallocation of five-eighths-cent’s tax dollars. We don’t know who’s all involved and how much is missing.

The police department has been getting raises since 2020. Some make six figures. Do they deserve more? Sure, but don’t discredit the city leaders for the progress that they’ve made without the assistance of Go Forward.

Ryan Watley gave his word that no matter if the tax failed or passed that they would complete what was promised. Let’s give them a chance to stand on their word. As a community, we need more evidence to make a better informed decision. The tax doesn’t expire until September 2024. What’s the rush?

Joni Alexander,

Former Pine Bluff City Council Member

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