Bond money

Dear editor:

Mr. Little, I hear you and agree, but you may not understand how the game is played in Hot Springs. There are about a dozen people who control everything; the names you surely recognize.

As for the ballpark funding, it goes back a few years when some unknowing citizens thought the hamburger tax was excessive and tried to put up a vote to cut it in half. Their response was this type bond financing, saying they had to stay in business at the current 3 percent rate to pay off all the bond indebtedness that they generated, and it goes on. Even before that, there was a law problem in how the hamburger tax was controlled and that was when the friends got together and formed the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission as a “separate” body to administer the $12 million they take in each year.

Another very recent example was in the details of Community Block Grant money (federal money given to cities to help lagging neighborhoods) allocated out by the city. About half of the allocations went to street and sidewalk repair, a normal city function that should have been done already with city funds. In addition, they received special clearance for building site investors (tax breaks) in certain neighborhoods. Wonder who those investors will be?

But please don’t think that is all; our elected members of the state Legislature are close associates of the friends, even full partners when a law needs to be added or changed to keep things in line. Remember, Garland County residents are second class to the city, bilked by water/sewer fees, controlled by business restrictions and need to be kept out, except to spend money. Enjoy the ballpark — how much will admission be?

Jim Pumphrey Garland County