By Melanie Brubaker Mazur
Times editor
If paying an extra penny for every buck spent in Bayfield helps our roads and storm sewers, then I'm in favor of it.
Bayfield is basically a sales-tax poor town. We've had some business growth lately, but let's face it, a lot of our sales taxes flow west to Durango or south to Farmington, so those cities get to spend our money, not us.
A one-cent increase in Bayfield's sales tax will be dedicated to a street and infrastructure fund that will improve our infrastructure, which is one of those bread-and-butter items we need to keep Bayfield a decent place to live.
Does anyone else remember that huge pothole on the corner of Mill and Church streets you used to have to dodge? My little car's tires used to go "ka-thunk" to the bottom on the days that I forgot to avoid going around it. I'm glad that big thing got fixed, thanks to the money from the Colorado Department of Transporation to take over the twin bridges, but most of that money needs to be spent on replacing those bridges, and we still have some street improvements left.
And wouldn't it be nice to have some more sidewalks in town, maybe near the elementary school, or in the residential areas near the middle and high schools? Then it would be safer for our kids to walk to school!
If past elections are an indication, this issue will be decided by a handful of Bayfield voters. Like many Times readers, I don't live in the town limits of Bayfield or Ignacio, but I drive on the streets in both towns. Paying the sales tax helps spread that equitably among the area's drivers, not just town residents.
I'm not a fan of sales taxes in general because they're regressive, but that's a topic for another day. And they are the town's biggest revenue source. They fill in the cracks for what we pay in property taxes, and I suppose many wealthier folks pay more sales taxes than lower or middle-income types because they have more disposable income.
We've heard more about roads in the campaign supporting the tax, but remember that stormwater drainage has a big backlog of projects, as well. Those can reduce or prevent property damage in big storms.
Voting yes on 2B makes sense, and I ask Bayfield town residents to seriously consider it when it's time to send in your ballots before Nov. 3.