Early voting on the proposed 0.75% sales tax increase for the City of Hutchinson began Monday and continues through Tuesday, March 3. One would like to believe that since every resident of the city will be impacted by the outcome of the vote in one way or another, the majority of registered voters would turn out and make their opinions known. Sadly, history has shown that less than 20% of the registered voters will probably decide for the 80% who don’t vote. We’re hoping that changes on March 3.
If the proposed sales tax increase passes, every visitor to Hutchinson will pay it when they buy things in town, and every resident of the city will pay it when they do their normal shopping. It’s not a property tax increase, which city officials have publicly said that they hope to avoid to balance the city’s books, but it’s a tax increase nonetheless. If it fails, then in all likelihood city officials will spend the summer deciding what programs and positions to cut to balance the city’s ledgers. Neither option has a great deal of appeal, and we took our stance in favor of the proposed sales tax increase in last week’s editorial.
We’ve followed through on our promise to provide the facts about what the proposed sales tax increase is and isn’t in our reporting on the issue throughout the course of two public meetings, getting the facts about the city’s trip to Japan last year, and reporting what the Hutchinson City Council has said about it during its two meetings this month. We even reported on the city council halting improvements to the city’s golf course due to concerns about the city’s finances, and how a private resident stepped up to fund the rest of the improvements when the council chose not to. We’ve done our part to educate city voters about the proposed sales tax increase as fairly, accurately, and objectively as any news organization can.
Now it’s up to the voters in the city to decide whether it’s an important enough issue to take a few minutes out of their day to cast their vote. Voting shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes since there’s only one issue on the ballot, and since Hutchinson is such a small city, it shouldn’t take more than 10 to 15 minutes to get to a polling place and cast a vote. Most voters can do it on their lunch breaks, so we hope they decide to use one of their lunch breaks to do their civic duty.
The right to vote is an important one, but it’s one too many of us take for granted. We may think that our vote doesn’t matter because other people will vote and they’re going to vote the way we would, or there are too many people voting the opposite way, so our vote won’t make a difference.
But in traditionally small turnout elections like the March 3 special election, every vote truly matters. Maintaining the city’s current levels of service or having them cut could easily come down to a matter of less than 100 votes, so we encourage everyone who is registered to vote to take a few minutes out of their day to do just that. If you have questions about the proposed sales tax increase, go to our website and read the stories we’ve written about the issue instead of relying on what you’re reading on social media.
Your vote could make a difference in the outcome, and voting in Hutchinson is far easier than it is in most places, so there’s really no excuse not to vote, is there? If you have time to rant and rave about it on social media, then you have time to vote, if you’re a registered voter in Hutchinson. Your vote has more impact than any social media rant will ever be, so get up from the keyboard and head to the polls.
Then, if the vote doesn’t go the way you wanted it, you can rant and rave about it until your fingers get tired because you voted. Better yet, start attending city council meetings and get involved in organizations that are working to make Hutchinson a better place to live. Every member of the Hutchinson City Council represents you, so let them know what’s on your mind. But first, get out and vote.
– The Hutchinson Tribune Editorial Board