City business owners
taxed without a vote
In response to John P. Lambertson’s letter to the editor dated July 20, 2019. Mr. Lambertson states “The right to vote comes with the responsibility to pay city taxes.” I agree, the right to vote does come with that responsibility to pay city taxes. However, do you realize that if you live (reside) outside of the city limits, but own a business or property within the city limits, you are required to pay all of the obligatory taxes but you are not permitted to vote in city elections.
Think about that.
You own property and/or operate a business in Morgantown, and you pay all the mandatory taxes – B&O, Fire Service Fee, Utility Fee, Higher property taxes, increase MUB fees, and in most cases, absorbing your employees weekly User Fees just to name a few. Remember, too, businesses pay far more taxes than the average city homeowner.
Just because you don’t lay your head on a pillow within the city limits – you don’t get to vote!
That, my friend, is Taxation without Representation!
Carmen & Karen Gutta
Morgantown – Post Office Only
Trump attacks on
Squad offensive
As a Jew, I am deeply offended by Donald Trump’s remarks using antisemitism as a pretext for his recent sexist and racist attacks against Representatives Pressley, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Omar. Trump mistakes dissent for disloyalty, just one of his many failings as the leader of the free world. Freedom of speech is what makes America great.
A president who did not speak out unequivocally in August of 2017 against a mob shouting anti-Semitic and white nationalist chants in Charlottesville cannot convince me he is truly concerned about tamping down expressions of hatred against Jews and other minorities.
While I have sincere policy differences with some of the congresswomen, especially as they relate to Israel, I believe the American way to challenge those views is through debate and discourse, not ugly personal attacks.
Linda M. Jacknowitz
Morgantown
Annexation proponent
distorted facts
Regrettably, Morgantown city officials are using divisive Washington political tactics to promote their ill-conceived annexation plan. They accuse county residents as being freeloaders who don’t pay their “fair share,” pitting city residents against county residents.
For example, in a Letter to the Editor published in the July 20 Dominion Post, a gentleman accused people opposing annexation of “freeloading” off of the city and not paying their “fair share.” He cited two examples. Neither example holds up to objective, logical analysis.
First, he mentioned BOPARC is available to county residents, but he ignored the fact that privately funded county recreational facilities are available to city residents.
Mylan Park is a first-class recreational facility with more than $60 million of recreational facilities. That private initiative put together by those “freeloading” businessmen who don’t pay their “fair share,” like Mylan Puskar.
Then there is Cheat Lake, (which is paid for by electric consumers in many states), and the many other recreation facilities not supported by the city.
Regarding emergency services, county police and volunteer fire departments will back up the city and the city will back up the county. Neither side is “freeloading” off of the other.
Regarding streets, it is in the city’s best interest to maintain its streets to encourage people to come into the city to shop and generate city taxes. Additionally, city residents use private roads outside the city that the city doesn’t maintain.
The gentleman ignores the obvious, that all his arguments work both ways.
Therefore, he must accept that city residents are “freeloading” off of county residents and others because they are not paying their “fair share” to support these other facilities and services, or he must accept that we have a good working partnership in this community where everyone contributes their “fair share.”
Michael Callen
Morgantown
Border detention
cruel to kids
Last night my 5-year-old daughter woke up at 3 in the morning, throwing up. Like any parent would, I ran into her room, helped her to the bathroom, held back her hair while she threw up some more, cleaned her off in the bath, and then lay with her while she fell back asleep listening to Frog and Toad stories.
The night before last, she woke up at 4 from a nightmare. Her voice is so small in those early hours, the size of a moth. “I’m scared,” she said.
I told her that there was nothing to be scared of, that mommy and I were in the next room and that Stanley— our dog — was right outside her door keeping watch.
“Block out the bad thoughts,” I said, “by thinking of your baby brother asleep in his crib across the hall.”
And then I climbed back in bed and thought about the children being held by Customs and Border Protection.
Like this boy, who told a lawyer: “I am 5 years old. I am from Honduras. … I was apprehended with my father. The immigration agents separated me from my father right away. I was very frightened and scared. I have not seen my father again. … I have not been told how long I have to stay here. I am frightened, scared and sad.”
And this girl: “There is one very young girl in my room, only 6 years old, who doesn’t know where she is from or where she is supposed to go. I do not know what will happen to her. She arrived here five days ago. When we came here yesterday, I asked who she was with. She said she was with her father but they had been separated.”
Close the camps.
Geoffrey Hilsabeck
Morgantown
Annexation can benefit
public health
If there’s one thing most living inside and just outside the city limits can agree on, it’s the need to improve our pubic recreation facilities and programs.
This makes good sense — what could be more desirable or urgent in West Virginia? We suffer a 38% adult obesity rate, the highest in the nation. Over 15% of our population has diabetes, also the highest disease rate in the nation and by far the worst compared with any developed nation in the world. This suffering touches all of us, and the direct and indirect costs we share as a result of these epidemics is measured in the billions of dollars.
My uncle, a dedicated and well-meaning opponent of municipal annexation, just returned to Morgantown from a visit to Provo, Utah. He is amazed and confounded by the excellent and inexpensive public recreation options available to Provo citizens and visitors, compared to the few public recreation facilities and programs here at home.
It’s mostly math. Provo spends almost $91 per citizen for public recreation, while Morgantown’s general fund budget includes about $42 per citizen for these programs.
A friend is considering a job transfer from WVU to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Just like my uncle, she admires the public recreation facilities in Ames and complains about shortcomings here at home. Again, it’s the math: Ames spends almost twice per citizen for public recreation than Morgantown ($73 compared to $42).
Closer to home, Charleston spends about $60 per citizen on its parks and recreation programs. Of course, our Capitol City also hosts bustling and successful YMCA and YWCA facilities and programs.
Adequate investment in public recreation promotes healthy, peaceful and productive adults, teens and children in our community, and better (and longer!) lives for all. Quality facilities and programs can directly and immediately improve the lives of many, old and young, who otherwise have neither the means nor the opportunity to participate in healthy structured or non-structured activities.
Who or what can fund, organize and manage these facilities and programs? The private sector and our churches can and do address some of these needs, but these have proven inadequate and are prohibitively expensive for some. Dedicated and hard-working nonprofits, like the Mon River Trails Conservancy, have partially filled the gap with vital fundraising, services and leadership. Unfortunately, we have been unable to entice any significant investment in our community by large private non-profits such as the YMCA or YWCA. Finally, federal or state government investment in public facilities and programs is not likely or foreseeable.
This leaves local government to provide these services. For years, Morgantown’s BOPARC has heroically stretched dollars and nursed its facilities to try to meet these needs. It’s not enough.
The two ways the city may raise new public funds needed to make this essential investment are collecting more from its existing tax base or collecting from a broader (more populous) tax base that would be gained by annexation. Because public health matters to our entire community, we should all help to support improved programs and facilities. Annexing for a broader tax base is the way to accomplish this.
On a hot summer Sunday afternoon, a Provo citizen can pay $4 and enjoy all of the city’s recreation center facilities: Indoor and outdoor exercise pools, play pools and water slides, multiple indoor and outdoor basketball, pickleball and volleyball courts, racquetball and tennis courts, an indoor running track, weight and cardio-exercise rooms, a skate park, a game room with pool and ping pong, drop-in fitness classes (over 100 per week), and child care for exercising parents.
My uncle is right: We should be able to do better.
Tim Stranko
Second Ward, Morgantown.
These opinions are solely his own.
