Lakeland paying for public services II

For the record, I am posting the letter to the Commercial Appeal. Since the letter writer is in error, I have omitted his name. Corrections are in italics:

Let Lakeland pay for its services
It seems Lakeland has a new fire station that will be equipped and manned by the Shelby County Fire Department (March 12 article).
The City of Lakeland has no business (Yes we have business taxes) or property taxes. Its schools (? What is he talking about-Lakeland residents pay school/county property taxes, the same as ALL residents!), ambulance service (the City of Lakeland pays the SAME PERCENTAGE as County residents and other suburban cities. It is based on the percentage of calls in the City) and fire (City residents pay fire fees, the same as County residents, PLUS built a Fire Station! The Shelby County Fire Department is completely fee based) and police protection are furnished by Shelby County. Why should I, a citizen of Memphis, pay county taxes to provide services in Lakeland? (An absolutely untrue statement. We could ask about the County paying completely for the jail, the MED etc. when very few Lakeland residents use these facilities! Also our sales taxes support Memphis and only Memphis!)

It's time for Lakeland to step up and pay for the services it demands from the taxpayers of Shelby County. (We already more than do!) This is especially true considering the county's current financial plight.

(End of Letter)

Lakeland paying for public services

A letter to the Commercial Appeal today gave a completely false impression of Lakeland. Whether you read the letter or not, for the record:

-The Shelby County Fire Department is supported 100% by USER FEES, not property taxes. Lakeland residents pay the same as County residents ($24.00 per month) and Lakeland ALSO built the Fire Station staffed by the County at no charge to the County or County residents.

This provides a County Fire Station and also helps Lakeland by providing for the Shelby County Fire Department to continue operations.

-The City of Lakland pays THE SAME PERCENTAGE of actual costs as other suburbs pay(Germantown, Collierville, Arlington, Millington and the County residents) for Metro Ambulance calls. The percentage is based on the percentage of ambulance calls in Lakeland.

-The City of Lakeland does have a business use tax for businesses.

Also, consider that most Lakeland residents actually subsidize Memphis by our sales taxes from shopping in Memphis and I expect Lakeland residents subsidize Memphis!

Lakeland Fire Station # 1

Lakeland Fire Station # 1 is open! In a ceremony today, Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton, Lakeland Mayor Scott Carmichael and Vice Mayor Mark Hartz officially opened the Fire Station.

Lakeland Fire Station # 1 will be staffed by the Shelby County Fire Department in a joint agreement which will benefit both the City of Lakeland and the Shelby County Fire Department.

Special thanks to Lakeland Public Works Director Chris Masin who coordinated the tasks that make a successful project from the bid opening to the final inspection! Chris spent and lot of time and effort in insuring that the project was successful.

Also, a special thanks to Lakeland Administrative Assistant Theresa Meyer, who coordinated the Grand Opening of Lakeland Fire Station # 1!

Several nearby residents made a point of "intermodal" transportation when they drove their golf carts over to the Grand Opening!

Town Meeting April 4 2005

The next Town Meeting is 7:00 p.m., Monday, April 4, 2005 at the IH Club on Canada Road.

Discussions will be anything YOU want to discuss plus a presentation of the status of the I-40/Canada Road Interchange project, New Canada Road (north of I-40) and the future of Beverle Revira Drive. This is the road in front of the Lakeland Fire Station and how it will connect to Huff & Puff and Seed Tick Road.

Comprehensive Plan, Lakeland Green Meetings

The City is currently in the process of updating the Lakeland Comprehensive Plan. Lakeland residents will be hearing a lot about this in the near future and rightly so, since this update has a major impact on the future.

I encourage all residents to attend Comprehensive Plan meetings and/or read Citywatch, the City web page, CityofLakeland.com or read the Qnet postings to keep informed about the Comprehensive Plan.

The Lakeland Green project is making a final presentation (based on the Charrette last fall) at 6:00 p.m., Monday, April 4 at the IH Club.

The semi-annual Town Meeting by the Lakeland Board of Commissioeners will follow at 7:00 p.m.

I understand that Mayor Scott Carmichael has informally advsied that the meeting WILL be over in time for those who want to catch the NCAA "Final Four"!

Also, please bear with me as I learn more about "blogging". I may make some mistakes, but I do learn fast!

Coffee Shop 3/15/05

I have decided to migrate to a "blog" from the "Coffee Shop" on the City web page. City of Lakeland meeting dates and notices are at CityofLakeland.com.

I hope this blog will provide a more interactive communciation with Lakeland residents and intersted persons.