Reports are that the actual wording of the Bettendorf Schools special tax levy election is more than advertised. Early this afternoon Bettendorf resident JG called our attention to the actual wording on the ballot for the special tax levy. So we checked the sample ballot on the Auditor’s office Web site. The official wording indicates that the levy is for “public educational and recreational activities and community education purposes.”
That is significantly different and much broader than what people were led to believe. The PR behind the effort indicated it was for special needs. The election is for money for anything and everything. As JG remarked:
” . . . maybe this last purpose means that they can spend our money to educate us on how well they’re spending our money?
” . . . Anyhow, with the way the proposition is worded, it would seem that they are actually asking for a general tax increase for the school district, not a targeted increase earmarked specifically for recreational facility improvements. One wonders if they’ll even bother to keep the new revenue in a separate “kitty”.
Some anecdotal responses to our post indicated that turnout was a little better than the jaded observers expected, at least at St. John Vianny, one of the two voting locations. At 11:30 AM or so voting there was 250 or so. Voting will probably be lighter at the City Hall location. If it goes down the manipulators may need to reconsider their strategies for grabbing more tax money.
