At last Tuesday night's Blytheville City Council meeting, Councilman John Musgraves and Mayor James Sanders both lamented about the poor promotion of the city.
"We have to promote what we have, better than we have," Sanders said.
Musgraves added: "We have to do a better job of selling our city."
The best way to sell the city is through its citizens. They are the ones who will carry the torch for or against Blytheville. They market the community anytime someone asks about Blytheville, whether it be a family member, friend or an individual they just met at an out-of-town function.
Positive and negative words have a major influence, one way or the other. They can draw potential residents and businesses in for a closer look or push them away. There is plenty to boast about here, just as there are reasons to grumble.
The way to get residents on board with promoting Blytheville is to restore their trust.
I think it's fair to say confidence is back at a similar level as the 2010 election season, when voters pined for new blood to move the city in a positive direction.
Right now, Blytheville seems to be stuck in neutral. There's a growing sentiment "moving Blytheville forward" has been more talk than action the last two years.
There are a number of steps that could lead to residents feeling progress is on its way, thus leading them to talk up Blytheville more.
One is, if legally possible, stripping former Blytheville Mayor Barrett Harrison of his first five years of retirement benefits. The mayor and Council members haven't mentioned the idea once since this writer called for the action in November.
Other than a hit to his image, Harrison has suffered little to no consequences for the condition he left the city in, including passing on the multimillion payroll tax debt to the IRS that citizens will be paying for somehow (the IRS has yet to accept the 15-month, 1-cent sales tax patrons approved in March). The failure to pay the payroll taxes will likely cost citizens in excess of $1 million in penalties and interest, not to mention a hefty bill from the tax lawyers, Memphis-based Baker-Donelson.
Yet, Harrison continues to collect a handsome $80,000 salary as president of the Blytheville-Gosnell Regional Airport Authority, and in August, he will be eligible for half his mayoral salary, which was $70,247.58 in 2010. Had the 2008 City Council not passed Ordinance 1678, the 54-year-old Harrison would have to wait an additional five years to begin collecting, and would have received $200,000 less than he will without any action by this Council. Delaying Harrison's retirement benefits would go a long way toward restoring confidence in city leadership.
Another way is to stop taking the "ignore it and it will go away" approach.
It's dumbfounding how, last Tuesday night, the City Council could fail to bring up the county's forthcoming lawsuit against Blytheville for the city's reportedly $600,000-plus overdue jail fees. Publicly, Council members haven't asked for an update on the IRS debt either. The board must be careful not to turn into the rubber stamp panels Harrison enjoyed a good portion of his 12 years in office.
Leaders also need to be more straightforward when speaking on issues, instead of dancing around them.
Mayor Sanders has been transparent to a degree. To his credit, basically, any public records I've asked for, he has turned over without much resistance.
But his answers can, at times, be interpreted different ways.
To me, a truthful, straightforward answer is better than a misleading one, no matter the consequences.
The only way to build trust is earning a track record of truthfulness.
Another way to restore confidence is showing tangible signs of progress. The recent street work is a good start, but folks need to see their tax dollars at work in parks and recreation as well.
My guess is the city is fearful of spending money as the IRS situation still looms.
When an agreement with the IRS is finally in place, there will be no excuses.
Now available are 1/4-cent taxes dedicated specifically for parks and recreation, infrastructure, i.e. streets, and police and fire, so those areas should show progress. A conservative estimate is the three separate taxes generate $165,000 a month. That means there is $1.9 million a year coming into city coffers that wasn't just three years ago. Granted, state turnback funds are down because of the population decline. Still, there is money available for improvements in specific areas, funds that lighten the load the General Fund was bearing.
For citizens to properly promote the city, they must have faith in its leaders.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com