Crawford County Commissioner Not In Favor Of Raising Taxes

Crawford County District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast said July 15 that he is not in favor of raising taxes.

Boast made the comments during a lengthy discussion that began with road conditions on Rustic Acres and ended with addressing how to hire and retain employees.

The commissioner, who is running for reelection next Tuesday, dismissed all forms of raising taxes on county residents, from sales taxes, the road and bridge levy, real estate taxes and a “canoe tax.”

Crawford County voters approved a sales tax increase in April 2018, which went into effect six months later.

The tax was due to sunset at the end of December 2023, but voters made it permanent during April 2022.

In the last few years, voters also have reaffirmed the road and bridge tax levy.

Boast was asked by Rustic Acres residents to explain the road conditions in that subdivision, which is off Highway C in Bourbon.

Glen King said he requested maintenance records on the roads on June 27 and that he wanted to meet with him, but had not received a response from Boast. King remarked that he was planning on moving to Rustic Acres soon.

“Why are these roads being ignored?” King asked. “Who’s looking at them? What can we do to make this not an issue? Do we need a tax levy?”

Boast apologized for not following up and said that he would get the records to King by the end of July.

Sergio DeCarvaltto said he had lived on Edith Drive for the last five years and that hard rains “destroy the area.” 

He called the engineering of the roads outdated. DeCarvaltto also said that heavy trucks from Swinger, FedEx, UPS and USPS complain about the condition. 

Joan King said the roads there have “never been in this bad of shape” but also conceded that there were issues before Boast took office in 2017.

Glen King wanted to know why, if District 2 was down two workers, he didn’t see any ads about the county hiring. Presiding Commissioner Steve Black said an ad had run in the Cuba Free Press. 

Boast told them he was aware of the issues at Rustic Acres. He also explained the difficulty in maintaining employees.

The district has 12 positions, Boast said, and two part-time positions have been vacant for the last four years. They are down two full-time employees and another is out injured.

There are four road graders, but two have had engine problems. 

“Many people have heard this same thing,” Boast said. “There are so many hours, so many days, so many people. What is the answer? Will more money fix this? Ultimately, we need people to work and we have to pay them a wage equal to or better than the neighbor. It’s hard to get them and hard to retain them.”

Glen King asked how the county can get wages up. Boast said bringing in more business and collecting more sales tax is the way forward.

King also asked Boast if paving Rustic Acres was a possibility.

The commissioner said that can be a slippery slope. While there are some people who would pay more, he asked “what happens after the fact? What happens if I’m not here and we enter into a cost-share?”

King said the agreement would be with the county and not with the current commissioner. He also said that if Boast was unwilling to raise taxes, what it would take to raise salaries?

“I understand because (taxes) are (expletive) anyway,” King said. “I know math. We’re underspending that pie. Things aren’t getting done.”