$850 million sales tax increase not necessary, will benefit few | Opinion

On March 3, Wichita voters will decide if we should give $850 million, via a new 1% sales tax, to a small group of rich developers, contractors and architects to fund their vague list of projects.

They call themselves Wichita Forward, but only formed their nonprofit corporation last November, just days before taking their proposal to the City Council.

A few weeks later, the council voted to rush forward with a special election without any public input, specific plans or budgets to show how our money would be spent and who will benefit.

The council was told that they had to move quickly because funding for the new homeless shelter will run out in October.

But instead of taking $1 million from the $88 million which the city has in cash reserves to keep that shelter open next winter, they are asking us for $150 million over seven years.

The city must pay $170,000 to hold the election in March. If the council had waited until the August primary, or better yet the November general election, there would have been no extra cost and a much larger voter turnout.

The supposed “guardrails” approved by the council at its Feb. 10 meeting are a step in the right direction.

But these last-minute efforts to set priorities on which projects to fund first should have been done months before the council decided to take this poorly thought-out plan to the voters.

It is too rushed and too vague, with little public input and no review by each council member’s district advisory board

Should the ballot measure pass, each of us will pay more in sales taxes during the next seven years than most homeowners will get back from the estimated $150 million in property tax relief in the package. Renters won’t see a dime.

And since this is a regressive tax, people of low incomes will pay proportionately more. Only a few real estate investors and some businesses will see much benefit.

A small amount of the city’s cash reserves can be used to keep the homeless shelter and services going.

Likewise, setting aside an additional $225 million for fire and police expenses is definitely not needed.

A new fire station is already being built, plus the Police Department budget has increased by $21 million dollars during the past four years.

We also don’t need a new convention or performing arts center.

Attendance at convention centers is down nationwide. Spending $225 million to expand the Bob Brown section of the Century II complex to the east, with no place to park, would be a total waste of money.

We already have Century II, Intrust Bank Arena, The Orpheum Theatre, The Cotillion and Park City Arena for performances.

Our current City Council is not responsible for previous project failures.

But they have to rely on many of the same contractors and developers who have not been held accountable for cost overruns or keeping their commitments in the past.

Our trust must be re-earned.

— Walt Chappell is a former member of the Kansas State Board of Education.