Reading about the goings-on of Elkins city government is a lot like a magazine serial story. That kind of story was popular when I was a youngster in the sixties. Does anyone remember the GRIT paper of old? If you don’t, there were many serials in there that ran for several weeks and covered many situations. When things were settled another story would start the next week.
Sound familiar, citizens? It should, and the latest story has already advanced a couple chapters. I’m referring of course to Mr. Pingley’s request to create a storm water utility and further stated the water customers should be charged a fee to pay for it. That’s in excess of 4,000 accounts.
The 1% sales tax would go a long way in this project but they’ve already started passing that money out and that’s why you residents will be assessed a fee. Five will get you 10 it will be substantial.
One more thing. In an October 2015 edition of this paper there is a letter dated Oct. 10 written by Sutton Stokes when he was city clerk and he is adamant in saying that the application for Home Rule is not about the sales tax.
He said: “… Elkins is not applying for authority to impose a local sales tax.” Look through the archives for that date; you’ll see I’m not making this up. Do you suppose the council didn’t inform him?
Open your wallets and be prepared to dig deep! Just in case.
Harold Arbogast
Parsons
