Thursday, February 2, 2012
Little Rock Government Library promises transparency in tax campaign
Posted by Max Brantley on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 9:32 AM
I had to ask Library Director Bobby Roberts my baseline question:
Will the library itemize expenditures in the campaign to pass the tax?
As I indicated this week on the coming Pulaski Tech tax vote, I've decided to oppose any tax campaign in which expenditures aren't itemized. Mayor Mark Stodola said it was beyond his power to get the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce to itemize expenses in its shadowy campaign for a city sales tax, just as it has been impossible for him to get the chamber to fully tell taxpayers how it spends the $200,000 in tax money it gets every year. I'm just one vote, but it's going to vote from here on out for full accountability. Those who won't disclose campaign spending won't get my vote.
Said Bobby Roberts, who'll be using Mary Dillard as a political consultant as he has before:
I agree with you about the reporting & we will itemize how the money is spent in the report. In our case the Coalition does not pay very much through Mary. That is we pay directly to the vendor supplying the services so almost all of the coalition's expenditures will show in the report. Most goes for printing & mailing.
See how easy that was Mayor Stodola, Chamber officials, Markham Group?
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Comments (8)
Showing 1-8 of 8
Bobby Roberts's leadership for the Central Arkansas Library System has been awesome, and his selection of Mary Dillard as political consultant for this campaign is a good clue as to why. Both of them are straight arrows.
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It's really very simply. Mark Stodola can tell the Chamber of Commerce, which lobbies against the interests of American workers, to itemize their expenditures on any city-related issue or they will not get their $200,000 payola for this year.
Support your local library and vote for this! We get so much in return for our dollars invested there.
Now that you're semi-retired, why don't you run for mayor Max Brantley? Then you could work on imposing development taxes and all the other fun things you'd like to have.
Viper is out from under his rock! Warn the women and children.
Sayeth Bobby: "...so almost all of the coalition's expenditures will show in the report."
Why only "almost all" and not all. They can comply by requiring their campaign shill to report all expenditures or seek other employment. All is all. Anything else falls short.
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