OPINION: They say it's not optional

Once again, a public servant has threatened you, rather than simply asking for more of your money.

As reported several times in this column, El Paso County officials and the Colorado Springs City Council want a new 1 percent county sales tax to pay for "public safety." It's a lot of money. Think about it this way: A 1 percent sales tax makes a $10 bill worth only $9.90 at the checkout stand. A $100 bill becomes something worth only $99 at the cash register. And that's not counting the taxes we already have on our cash.

Public officials know the tax is almost certain to fail. They're asking for this massive tax increase at a time when consumers are strapped from inflation, shopping less and making tough sacrifices. And while politicians plead government poverty, city and county officials waste resources on prosecutions of minor infractions of the smoking ban and inspections of food they have no jurisdiction to inspect.

Since the tax makes no sense to the average consumer, at least one public official has resorted to an old worn-out threat. It goes like this: If you don't give us this tax, we'll sell the county parks.

It's a brilliant political ploy. Everyone likes parks. Parks are for children and dogs. They're like baseball, mom and apple pie.

County Commissioner Wayne Williams reminded voters during a meeting Thursday that the county might sell parks if it doesn't get the tax, while pitching an idea that parks be protected from any future sale if the tax passes. Given the tax, Williams would support putting county parks under conservation easements that would make them nearly impossible for any future commissioners to sell.

No sales tax, however, no easements. Once again, a politician has neatly tied a public safety tax proposal to parks. If one buys this, it seems a vote against the tax is a vote against children and long walks with Fido, the family dog.

Even the leader of a group called Save our Parks and County Now found the Williams proposal inappropriate.

"That's kind of being a little unfair to the public to hold it out as a bribe," said Bob Dyer, leader of the organization. "If you pass the sales tax, then we'll put these parks into perpetual easements so they cannot be sold to private parties - I just think that's kind of a roughhandled justice."

That's putting it kindly. The Williams proposal, as it was presented, is a threat and bribe combined. It's a message that says Williams wants the tax, and if he doesn't get it he'll do things that nobody wants to see. If he does get it, nobody in the future will be able to threaten the sale of parks - like this board of commissioners has done.

Colorado's Constitution requires that public servants ask the public to approve tax increases. Politicians find that law most inconvenient. But that doesn't make it right for them to give us threats, bribes and disrespect.