Suburban Blues
To the Editor:
If I read John Branston’s article correctly (City Beat, February27th issue),
Arlington doesn’t deserve a new high school because its residents don’t pay
enough taxes. What he didn’t mention was that Arlington provided most of the
land for the 60-acre high school at below-market value. The county school board
had earlier rejected an offer to provide the same land at the old airport for
free.
It should also be noted that Arlington also provided Shelby County with 12
acres for the new sheriff’s department substation, again for free. Arlington
homeowners may not pay the high taxes that Memphians do, but the town has certainly
contributed to Shelby County. And Arlington residents pay the same county property
taxes as do homeowners in Memphis, Lakeland, and Bartlett. Their city property
taxes are low because the city doesn’t have a police department or many of the
other “services” Memphians pay for with their taxes. The town sold
its water system to MLGW several years ago and contracts with BFI for trash
collection. City Hall and Public Works operate very well with small staffs.
The same can be said for Lakeland, where they have no police or fire department
or property tax. Arlington and Lakeland residents pay fewer taxes because they
have learned to live very comfortably without many of the services Memphis residents
enjoy or seem to think they need. But the folks in both Arlington and Lakeland
deserve to receive something in exchange for their taxes. Lakeland has virtually
no county services except those provided by the sheriff’s department and county
fire department. Arlington has a county library, but it’s so small they can’t
accept large-print books.
Branston is absolutely correct that the homebuilders who have created the
need for new schools in places like Arlington should share in the cost of new
school construction. Personally, I think he understates impact fees. I think
$5,000 to $10,000 per $200,000 home is not unreasonable. Last year, I ran for
a seat on the county commission and impact fees was one of the principal planks
of my campaign. Naturally, I got buried at the polls.
Until we elect commissioners who aren’t bought and paid for by developers
like Jackie Welch and Clair VanderSchaaf, impact fees are a good idea that will
never see the light of day. Impact fees are the “third rail” of county
politics. You can be sure that the current bunch won’t touch it for the next
four years.
Bob Koenig
Bartlett
To the Editor:
Once there was a small community called Cordova. There was a sign on Macon
that read “Farms, Flowers, Fellowship.” Now there’s an apartment complex
there. Developers continue to destroy the woods, and people continue to move
in by the thousands. In five years, they’ll complain about crime and how crowded
it is.
Cordova is becoming Hickory Hill North, and no one worries about the rising
crime rate and destruction of natural beauty. They can always move farther out
to Oakland, Arlington, or Somerville, I guess. I work in Cordova but live in
Binghamton, and all the SUVs and credit cards in the world couldn’t get me to
reverse that.
Clay Clark
Memphis
Expendable Med?
To the Editor:
Regarding Janel Davis’ article about the Med possibly closing (City Reporter,
February 27th issue): I work at the Med in the ICU, and we lack the basic necessities
to care for our patients. I fail to see how Governor Bredesen plans for the
Med to have long-term financial security. We take care of indigents and the
working poor, many of whom, if they have a job, surely do not have one after
a hospital stay. These people are considered expendable by employers. I guess
they are expendable to the governor as well.
It must be nice to sit in a mansion and not have to look death, malnutrition,
and disease in the face. It must seem very antiseptic to tell us to get a long-term
financial goal. Last summer, I took care of an elderly woman who was left in
a crack house with maggots eating her legs. Luckily, someone called the police
and she came to us. I saw to it that she died pain-free and in as much peace
and dignity as I could give her. That’s what we do at the Med. We don’t get
paid for it, but do you think Baptist, Methodist, St. Francis, or any other
private (read: for-profit) hospital would have taken that patient?
What is the governor’s idea for the long-term financial plan he would like
us to have? Does he want to kill the poor people?
Please excuse the spelling and grammar. I’ve been up for 24 hours saving lives
— apparently, thanklessly.
Annita M. Cline, R.N.
Memphis
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