JOPLIN, Mo. — Tonight, we continue our look at the five candidates asking voters for a seat on Joplin’s City Council. Kate Spencer, Brian Evans, Josh DeTar, Doug Lawson, and Jon Buck.
They all share details about the City’s new Use Tax and how they want to see that money spent.
“I think things like the homeless issue we have is just, it’s a real problem that and in coalition with that, the dilapidated rundown properties in Joplin, you know, you have homeless going into the properties that are abandoned. setting fires, not you know, setting fires but making fires to keep warm and that sort of thing when there are other places that they can go to stay to stay warm, but they go in these houses. So that’s a concern,” said Kate Spencer, Joplin Council Candidate.
“There’s a number of issues I think need to be dealt with to help out one as small businesses. But the biggest thing than the Use Tax that I saw is security. and safety of our communities. First of all, police. There’s a lot of areas that are low lit areas that kind of encourage crime, homelessness. All of it kind of goes into the safety security umbrella. Homeless has become a big issue,” said Brian Evans, Joplin Council Candidate.
“Safety and security. But on the other side of that is economic development. We want to be able to attract people into job one. Like I’ve said, I want to make it a destination not just for the people that live here because our citizens need to be happy and proud of where we live. We also want to attract people to come in and and spend money in our shops and eat our restaurants that grow our tax base,” said Josh DeTar, Joplin Council Candidate.
“What the Use Tax does is gives us a little bit more leeway. I mean, there’s regardless of how much we make, there’s going to be more tasks, more opportunities for more money than we’re ever going to get. I think and I’m not sure whether that’s the best way to do it. Certainly we’re now we’re looking at police pay. We’ve been looking at police pay for the four years I’ve been on it,” said Doug Lawson, Joplin Council Candidate. “But suddenly that moves to the front burner. Trying to rehabilitate some neighborhoods, which relates to what the police do. So I don’t have a good answer for that yet. Let’s see how much money we actually get from the Use Tax.”
“I mean, the police and fire I mean, it should have been the very first. I mean, the resilient revenue would be the second thing I will look at because looking at, you know, creating the revenue stream to be able to make the other things happen,” said Jon Buck, Joplin Council Candidate.
We’ve got much more with the candidates, talking about COIVD-19 and their own personal priorities.
