Garnett Mayor Mark Locke posted a letter on social media to the citizens of Garnett concerning the proposed sales tax. In the letter, he says there has been a lot of talk about replacing the pool and improving the parks in Garnett, but his top priority is the waste water, or sewer system. He says the entire system is in terrible condition and needs to be replaced. The clay piping and storm drains are crumbling and have outlived their life span. Cost to replace it all is estimated to be 18 million dollars. How will they pay for it? Locks says they will use the other half of the sales tax, as it would not create a hardship on the people like raising the property taxes or raising utility rates would do.
Locke says he is all for improvements to the parks and he knows how important they are to people. However, having a sewer system that works properly is at the top of his list as a ‘quality-of-life’– wastewater and sewer effect every single citizen in Garnett. The only other way to raise funds is to increase property tax or raise rates on utilities…two things nobody wants.
