[Vote] Fwd: Article from IN-FORUM

[Duke Schempp]

Fargo Forum Artice on Saturday


http://www.in-forum.com/News/articles/193388

*High school students to debate tax proposal*

Andrea Domaskin

The Forum - 03/01/2008

An organization dedicated to helping Fargo-Moorhead s least-privileged
residents is planning a public debate over a proposal to boost economic
development with a sales tax.

In a May 8 public event sponsored by the People Escaping Poverty Project s
voter collaborative, four high school students will research and debate the
proposed 12-year, half-cent Cass County sales tax that will be on the June
10 primary ballot. A place and time have not been set.

The format will be similar to a high school debate competition, and a judge
will declare winners and losers, said Duke Schempp, PEPP s executive
director.

What s fun about it is that it s going to involve youth, he said.

Brian Walters, president of the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development
Corp., is skeptical. His corporation asked Cass County to put the tax on the
ballot.

Walters said debate organizers have not contacted him to discuss the event.

He said it could be an attempt to influence the election, and he said it s
unfortunate that winners and losers will be declared.

That doesn t seem constructive to me, Walters said.

Walters said the social services issues that organizers work for are also
economic development issues.

Boosting the economy could provide more high-paying jobs, reducing the
number of people who need the services, and providing more money to pay for
the programs, Walters said.

To me they go hand in hand, he said.

The voter collaborative that s organizing the debate has not taken a
position on the sales tax issue, said Chuck Stebbins, a community organizer
for PEPP. He said the collaborative plans to contact Walters.

The collaborative is a subgroup of both PEPP and Waking the Sleeping Giant,
an alliance of human-service nonprofits, Stebbins said.

Schempp said organizers plan to stick to a true debate style, and that
involves winners and losers.

The only thing we re going to modify is we re going to give the audience a
chance to participate, he said.

The event is designed to inform residents about the issues they ll be voting
on, Schempp said, adding that it s also a way to spring forward some of our
concerns and issues.

Using sales tax proceeds to create a stewardship fund for nonprofits isn t
one of the issues.

Last year, members Waking the Sleeping Giant discussed creating a
stewardship fund for the nonprofits, possibly through Fargodome sales tax
dollars.

Nobody plans to propose a similar idea for the county tax proposal, Schempp
said.

We actually have kind of stayed away from that because it started pitting
people against each other, he said.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Andrea Domaskin at (701) 241-5556
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