What a great plan coming from Santa Fe's Mayor, and has another great one coming, down the pike, that of creating our own city bank to keep the monies circulating in our community. Gonzales was formerly the State Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, and comes from a political family in which his father George Gonzales previously served as Santa Fe's Mayor.
This Mayor is the smartest and most creative Mayor in Santa Fe since I started living here in 1969. No wonder he is getting coverage on national programs on the sanctuary city issue, and on this one, the sugar tax to develop prep-K, he deserves even more national discussions of this superb idea leading to implementation of this idea in many other cities.
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Response to this article from Mayor Gonzales:
Really like you adding perspective to the article. One thing to keep in mind is that the ordinance is being written to assure the maximum transparency and accountability. Specifically that means:
1. Their will be an independent annually report of where and how the money was spent and measure improvement.
2. If the City Council were ever to decide to use the money for something other the early childhood, the tax would immediately stop.
3. We are working with the 5 star high quality early childhood center to serve as program administrators so the experts run the program for the city. This addresses the city's past fiscal challenges and whether the city has the capacity to execute an effective program
4. City has taken the hard steps to reduce the $15 Million deficit without raising a single tax. We have replenished our reserves and will be in a position to begin investing into capital projects again
I think for the Nay Sayers, none of the above may make a difference, but for the supporters it matters profoundly.
Javier
(Article changed on January 16, 2017 at 21:17)
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