Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Not right time for justice complex

Let me see if I get this right:

When I came back to Clovis in 1992, the jail was being discussed as unsuitable then. Fast forward 18 years and what have we got? A deficient jail and courthouse.

So our “leaders” want to borrow an initial $16 million by issuing bonds that we, the taxpayers, are on the hook to pay back with interest. Our “leaders” also want to further tax us with a .25 cent raise on the gross receipts tax. (Can someone show me a tax that has ever gone away?)

Now if 18 years ago our civic leadership had proposed the tax increase with the expressed purpose of creating the wanted judicial complex today, I could have supported that. By doing that, we would have the money today without having to borrow it.

I have to agree with City Commissioner Randy Crowder: “Wrong time, wrong price tag.”

As for Carolyn Spence’s concern about our responsibility (in Thursday’s letter to the editor), I am more concerned about our last 18 years of leadership with no foresight or insight.