To the editor:
I’m glad to see two of the four candidates for sheriff are not in favor of a new jail.
But there still needs to be a concise estimate of the impact to taxpayers.
Currently, there are three different taxes/payments being assessed.
1. Recovery house money: We are forced to contribute to the Talitha Koum Recovery House charity via $150,000 in taxpayers’ money taken from the “food and beverage” tax account. All taxpayers should benefit from its distribution, not just 10 or 12 who can fit in the recovery house. I never voted to fund the addicts. There are so many other deserving people: babies with catastrophic diseases; cancer patients; the elderly, people working two jobs and having to eat at the soup kitchen.
2. Higher property taxes: The $55 million for the new jail will be funded by a property tax hike if the referendum passes
3. One-hundred-sixty-one-thousand dollars for the new program modeled after one in Dearborn County: An internal wing of the new jail would accommodate drug addicts and give room for their program — 30 people, men and women — at an additional cost of $161,000 annually to run the program. Even though Dearborn County’s JCAP program is funded through grants and fees, John Jessup says Hancock taxpayers will pay for such a program here.
The good side gives taxpayers the larger stakeholding in the Talitha Koum Recovery House at $175,000 (the $150,000 mentioned above plus $25,000 from the city of Greenfield in 2017). So, taxpayers would be allowed to participate in how it operates, including adding people like vets and unemployed since the pcs will be paid for out of taxpayers funding. We all should be allowed to use them. And we participate in who is chosen to live there as addicts, since they can’t just “choose” who they want. There should be an independent non-partisan selection committee.
I still say at least one of the $75,000 wads should be equitably distributed to the needy. Talitha Koum Recovery House people should take their own cash on hand ($170,000), make an operating budget and use their own money freely donated.
Right now Dan Speeler and John Jessup are not looking good as candidates for their respective offices. But two of the sheriff candidates have a common-sense approach.
Margaret Lundy
Greenfield
