In the city's poorest neighborhoods, homeowners often complain that their property values aren't rising as fast as the rest of the city. In nicer neighborhoods, such as Jungle Terrace, Lakewood Estates and Snell Isle, Eschenfelder has heard a lot of homeowners complain that their high property values force them to carry an unfair share of the city's tax burden. We're a city as a whole, and we need to help each other's problems. Eschenfelder said he thinks the city needs to chart the flow of tax dollars, maybe publishing it on the city's Web site to help residents understand that their tax money is spent on important things, even when a lot of it is not used to pave the street where they live. Bennett was pleasantly surprised to find that most voters he spoke with are willing to support economic development in the poorest neighborhoods and the struggling business districts in the southern half of the city.
People are concerned throughout the city about that.
They realize that only helps the city overall. He agrees with them that the city needs to invest more in its poorest neighborhoods, although the coalition on Friday endorsed Bennett, calling it a difficult choice. Redirecting some of those dollars south of Central would be a good thing. Bennett has picked up on the youth sports theme, a favorite issue of Williams'. I'd like to see more youth basketball, night basketball leagues.