So let's get started. If you have any problems unsubscribing, please see further instructions at the bottom of this edition of Streetmail. I wonder if the same people who build voting machines manufacture the computers used by our county assessors. For the second year in a row it appears Carbondale property taxes will not be tabulated in time to go out by Dec. 31. Our tax delay might not weigh as heavily on the nation as what happened in Florida, but local taxpayers have the right to expect a timely bill.
Some people depend on prompt tax assessments to figure their income taxes.
Councilman Brad Cole probably had a good idea during a discussion on the situation when he suggested that one way to use the city's current budget surplus might be a one-time property tax abatement. That would certainly make the tax delay a bit more palatable. Last week I asked if the State Legislature should approve a measure allowing Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois to begin studies on growing hemp as a cash crop in Illinois. The responses have been somewhat limited, but considering the number of responses I continue to receive concerning funding the Science Center, I'm not surprised. Last week I reported that the Science Center Museum survey was split equally between those in favor of city support and those opposed.