Baxter County Friends of the Taxpayers

MEETING NOTES

BAXTER COUNTY FRIENDS OF THE TAXPAYERS

SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2005

Director Frank Kaye called the meeting to order at 10 a.m., in the Fellowship Hall of Redeemer Lutheran Church.

First order of business was the Treasurer's report: as of March 12, we had had a total of $1880.46 deposited, had written checks totaling $734, leaving a balance of $1146.46. We still owed $788.80 to Lewis Sign & Neon for the outstanding balance on the yard sign order. Frank asked anyone who made a cash donation at the last meeting to see the secretary or treasurer before leaving, to get a receipt.

Yard signs were expected in Friday, March 11, but didn't show up on the UPS truck. Once they come in (potentially Monday), Jerry Caster has given permission to store them at the Safety of Seniors office (on Hwy 62 across from Radio Shack), for easy access by BCFT members. Anyone wishing to help place signs can pick them up there during office hours. Please remember to ask for a donation when finding locations -- we need to try to sell as many as possible to recoup as much of Ed Schild's very generous investment as we can.

Locations for signs were discussed -- it's important to place them on busy streets, particularly at intersections with stop signs or traffic signals. Use vise grips and hammer to make installation easier; don't put them out too soon (fear of vandalism). Dr. Bill Smith (leader of the local Teenage Republicans group) has volunteered to have the kids help put signs up a little closer to election time.

Plans are under way for the fundraiser, a "Chili & Chocolate" dinner, to be held Sunday, April 3, at the VFW Hall from 12 noon until 4 p.m. Tickets have been printed up and will be distributed at the end of the meeting to those who wish to sell them. Volunteers are also needed to provide chili and/or a chocolate dessert. Sign-up sheets will be available.

Ed Schild, coordinator for Letters to the Editor, reported that out of BCFT's 38 members, 21 have not written letters to the newspaper. Seven letters appeared in the Bulletin today (March 12). Ed planned to visit Sheila Boggess at the Bulletin on Wednesday.

Roger Paul, coordinator for speaking engagements, reported that he has contacted more than 35 organizations. He has had responses from 24; 20 of those said "no" -- political issues are not allowed at their meetings. Roger wrote an article for the April edition of the Moose newsletter, which will reach about 400 people. Talks coming up include:

• Republican Men's Club luncheon, Tuesday (March 15);
• Polish-American Club (March 21);
• interview for XL-7 TV's local talk show, "This Week Mountain Home" (films March 24, airs the following week);
• potential debate with attorney Judy Strother (A&P Commissioner) of the Baxter County Democrats (March 26, more on this below);
• debate on KTLO Radio with A&P Commissioner Rick Johnson (March 30).

Roger also reported that there was a good chance that Frank would be able to speak to the Woodcarvers Club; and that the Retired United Auto Workers had scheduled him to talk April 8 at the American Legion hall. The Business & Professional Women's Club will get back to him -- turns out they've already heard from a "pro A&P" speaker, and might give us equal time, if their president agrees. Roger will be out of town from March 18 through March 26.

Frank told about our trip to Little Rock on March 2nd to visit with State Senator Shawn Womack and State Representative Johnny Key, as advocates for the AARP and also as representatives of BCFT. We asked to meet with them both, once the current legislative session is over, to discuss changing the state law that permits city governments to levy A&P taxes without first putting the issue to a vote.

Regarding the debate with the BC Democrats: Frank said that he had already committed to doing it, but had been advised since then by several people (both inside and outside BCFT) that it probably wasn't a good idea, that it would likely do more harm than good. The argument was that agreeing to a debate with Ms. Strother would put the A&P Tax squarely in the political arena, and make it into a political issue (which goes against our mission statement -- BCFT is first and foremost non-partisan). It was suggested that if the organizers wanted to change the format and just allow Frank to speak to the group, that would be different (Stewart Brunner had already done that) -- it was the "debate" angle that everyone had a problem with.

Different options for withdrawing from the debate were discussed, including pointing out the fact that the A&P Commission still hasn't filed its Ethics Commission paperwork (over 1 month past due), and technically isn't an official Ballot Question Committee. Jerry Caster suggested that if Frank withdraws from the debate, we run an ad in the Baxter Bulletin explaining why, so the voting public doesn't think he just "chickened out."

The question came up about the KTLO radio debate, scheduled for Wednesday, March 30 (rescheduled from March 29), and whether Frank's participation in that one would cause the same problem. The consensus was that the KTLO debate with Rick Johnson, on neutral ground, would be all right, that in this situation it would be a civic issue rather than a political one.

John Beach reminded everyone that the Home Show is coming up soon (April 8-9) at the Fairgrounds, and that as many of us as can manage it need to be there handing out brochures on those two days. Early voting will have already started by then (April 4) and it will be a good way to encourage more people to vote.

Rob Welch told the group about the new "community needs assessment" survey being circulated by the Baxter County Public Library. He passed out copies to everyone, and encouraged them to fill out and send them in as soon as possible (deadline March 31). Attached to the surveys is a cover letter with BCFT's position and recommendations for voting on each survey question (similar to a proxy statement from an investment firm). The group agreed that taking a stand on this issue is part of what BCFT was formed to do. (Survey and cover letter are both available until March 31 on the BCFT web site: http://bcfriendsofthetaxpayers.org )

The question was asked about the Library's annual budget (over $500,000); where does it all go? Frank told the group that a recent appropriation bill sponsored by State Representative Johnny Key had been passed, which calls for $50,000 to go to the library for expansion/construction, etc. He also explained that just because the bill passed, it doesn't mean the library will actually ever receive any of the money - it's due to come out of the General Improvement Fund, which Gov. Huckabee has earmarked for school improvements.

Next, Frank discussed the recent announcement that Greyhound Bus Lines was pulling out of Mountain Home as of April 3. He invited everyone to call or write letters to Greyhound and try to influence them to rethink their decision to do this. The owner of the hot dog stand that serves as the bus terminal said that they easily sell about $100,000 worth of tickets every year. Phone numbers and addresses can be found on the BCFT web site (URL above).

Our guest speaker, Mrs. Lois Smith (state-certified Poll Worker trainer), spoke to us about Poll Watchers. She said that in her opinion, we really didn't need to post Poll Watchers at the Courthouse for early voting, or at all the polling locations on Election Day. The Election Commission works hard to train the Poll Workers so elections are as fair and honest as they can be. There are 5 Poll Workers (minimum) per polling location (3 Democrat, 2 Republican). Poll Watchers will be allowed, but they must go through training; their ONLY responsibility will be to observe and make sure that proper procedure is followed. It would be more important for us to have Poll Closers than Poll Watchers -- a Poll Closer arrives at the polling location about 7 p.m. (polls close at 7:30), observes the close-out of the polling location and sealing of the ballot box, and follows the box to the Courthouse and to the room where the ballots will be counted. The ballot counting (usually conducted in the Quorum Courtroom) is open to the public.

The question was asked about voting in nursing homes. Mrs. Smith said that the rules have changed, and nursing home administrators can no longer pick up as many ballots as they wish for their residents -- they (or anyone with an invalid relative) can only pick up two ballots. However, nursing home residents can request absentee ballots from the County Clerk, following the standard procedure. The suggestion was made that we make up flyers to distribute to nursing homes reminding the residents that they can request absentee ballots if they wish.

The meeting was adjourned.

Friday, March 18, 2005

Suzan Kaye (424-6235)

Secretary, BCFT