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Thursday, 22 May 2008 |
While there may well be some confusion over the collective vision for economic development in Mammoth Lakes, there is a clear understanding of what residents and visitors alike value here.
It's the environment, really.
And it's active participation in our environment that has attracted visitors and new residents for the past 24 years and will certainly attract newcomers in the future if we protect what we have in terms of parks and trails.
And, if we pass Measure R on June 3, we will cement that protection into place while assuring ourselves that we can expand those treasures over time.
Measure R institutes a half of one percent sales tax in Mammoth Lakes. That tax can only be used for the purpose of obtaining, improving and maintaining parks and trails in the Town.
It cannot be shifted to the general fund.
General fund money now allocated to parks and trails cannot be supplanted by sales tax revenue, either.
This is a deft bit of legislative thinking that escaped the states who adopted lotteries in the 1970s.
Those early states pledged lottery revenue to, say, the Department of Fish and Game or K-12 Education, and then subtracted general fund allocations equal to or greater than the dedicated lottery money. That sham is still going on today all across the nation.
But in considering Measure R, we can be assured that this money will go where it is intended. However, it gives us this assurance only if two-thirds of the voters on June 3 vote yes. That two-thirds majority is the price of the dedicated funding assurances.
Measure R gives all of us here today a chance to leave an environmental blessing on those who will be here tomorrow, and the cost is less than a latte for most families, and making the effort to vote yes on June 3.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Mammoth Times Editorial Board.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 May 2008 )
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