I have been on the Jacksonville City Budget Committee for the past 14 years. I have watched the careful and thoughtful process that the Committee goes through each year to keep our historic city fiscally sound.

I agonize over each fee increase, but when I realize that Jacksonville has the second-lowest tax rate in the county and that our tax rate is frozen by law, I feel it is fiscally responsible to add an extra police surcharge.

I am impressed at how careful the City is with its spending. And this thriftiness has earned Jacksonville the highest fiscal ratings by the City auditors.

Our city budget is based on known income. The police surcharge will bring in about $400,000 per year and we have budgeted for that. We have no idea how much the meals sales tax will bring in. If the police surcharge is voted out and the sales tax is voted in, our budget process will be thrown into disarray and staff will need to be laid off until the money flow is better understood.

We residents who live here and benefit from our fire and police protection should be willing to pay for it. It irks me that the people behind the proposed Meals Sales Tax say that tourists should have to pay for OUR police and fire departments. Huhhh!?

I have read the proposed meals sales tax law. It is SO complicated that it would take each restaurant a fulltime lawyer just to make sure that all of the detailed requirements are met. Also, the penalties for not following the law are extreme. I have a feeling that this ill-conceived sales tax law was cut and pasted from some other city. It was not crafted specifically for Jacksonville and our unique, little historic city.

Jacksonville is less than two square miles in size. Why would people flock to a taxing island?

When I shop, I look for value and price. If there is a sudden 5% increase in our restaurant prices over other cities, then people will shop elsewhere.

Larry Smith

I have to two grandsons who work at the Bella Union. I have watched how the Bella works to save every penny because their profit margins are so thin. If the dining room thins out, then staff is sent home. If this unfair fiscally unknown meals sales tax is imposed on the restaurants of Jacksonville, I can guarantee that the dining rooms will thin out and my grandsons’ hours will be dramatically cut.

VOTE NO ON THE MEALS SALES TAX

Larry Smith