To the editor,
I love living in Jefferson but we’re not a Carroll or Boone and residents and city management and council should start to realize this and quit trying to spend us into the next century. All these walking trails, beautifying our businessless county square and signs all over directing people to ???
Lest we all forget about our shambled streets, our dilapidated sewer system causing backups and doing nothing about it but apologies and promises.
And all the properties collecting junk and cars and rundown homes needing paint and repairs. You can’t make me believe that city code has no control over enforcement — those responsible — do your job.
My thought is we’re paying the city manager for a poor job of running our aging town. Mike Palmer, drive around and take some pictures. Enforce existing laws for the way properties are zoned. Fix our streets and sewer system and quit trying to grow this town and beautify it by forcing business owners to pay for new fronts, causing more business to quit. I predict we will lose 2-3 more this year. Why would a new business want to come here?
The direction our mayor, city council and city manager should be taking is to make this a great place to live and shop by having the whole town clean and neat, good smooth streets, and enforcing the laws with the money we’re already spending to have these services $$$$.
Farmers are paying the lion’s share of property taxes and without much control over the spending and that’s another reason ag land prices are way down. Example – Nebraska ag land taxes have skyrocketed over the last few years and most of it is for sale with no buyers? Why? No money in it.
City property taxes increase any more and many of the older people in Jefferson will not be able to afford to live in and keep up their own homes. Sad.
Residents and property owners, call your supervisors, city manager, council members and voice your opinions about the above situations while we still have something worth saving — and then follow up and expect them to do their job, or else.
Dick Finch, Concerned Citizen, Jefferson
