Shouldn't be forced to pay for ECC policies
I have just read the unanimous decision by The Elgin Community College trustees to tap what, they believe, will be a quick and easy source of more money from real estate taxes.
Just because I own a small piece of real estate, the ECC Trustees want more money from me. In your Wednesday Jan. 28, front page article, Fred Norris is quoted to say, "If we sell this properly and sell this positively, we can and will go forward." Sounds like Fred and the gang are in a business. I do not want to do business with his company. So Fred and the board are selling me something I do not wish to purchase. Why should I be forced to purchase something I do not want nor I cannot use?
Fred has something he wants to sell, education. Fine. I do not want to purchase his offering. Why should I buy something that I do not want? If the ECC Board wants to impress me, then find a way to SAVE money.
I ask the trustees not to use the quick and easy out of saying taxpayers will pay for the trustee's dreams. These ECC folks are not very creative. All they want to accomplish is meet, gouge the easiest victims, adjourn, and then try to convince strapped taxpayers that the trustees have done some really great stuff ... all at other's expense.
Grocery stores, clothing stores, gas stations and other businesses do not force me to purchase their items. I choose what to buy and from whom I want to buy. Just because I have faithfully paid my inflated real estate taxes for decades does not mean that I want to continue dumping my money into ECC's endless deep pockets.
If folks need an education from this institution/business, then let the ECC board find another way (other than real estate taxes or any public taxes) to charge potential students for their services offered ... just like any other business would.
I do not want to hear the rebuttal that goes down the bleeding heart "for future generations" road argument. I have more than paid educational dues for past, present, and future generations.
It does not make sense for me to be forced to pay for a commodity I will not use by people who, I believe, do not have sound business methods.
Jerry Gibson
South Elgin