Raising revenue for the City of La Vergne

Hi all! BadBadIvy here.

I know, I only seem to show up when there's something dramatic to be said, but that's just how I roll. I've been thinking about the city's revenue problems, and I think I have some solutions, so listen up, city officials.

1. Raise the price of building permits. I'm not talking about gigantic raises in costs, I'm talking about a fairly small raise, say $100. So many houses are going up that this should bring significant money to the city.

2. Raise taxes, for God's sake! Again, not a major raise. Raise taxes 2 cents on the dollar. That's not going to hurt anyone terribly badly, but with all the homes in La Vergne, it should bring a good amount of money in. And do so for the next, say, 10 years. Property taxes are already ridiculously low in La Vergne, which is fab, but we need more police, a good community center, a community pool. There needs to be more things to do here so we can combat crime and have a sense of community here.

3. Institute a parking permit so people can park on the streets. Have people pay $25 a year to have a parking permit and put up signs, "Parking on this side of the street with permit only." There are certain streets that are too narrow to have parking on. That's fine. You can only park where there are signs and as long as you have a permit. Just sitting out on my front porch this evening I counted seven cars parked on the street. Think about how much money you could raise if you instituted a parking permit.

4. And while we're at it, enforce the parking ordinance! Drive down my street at any time, and you will find plenty of cars parked illegally on the streets. I've posted about it before here, at one of my other blogs. People think the ordinance is ridiculous, and so do I, especially since you do not enforce it. Hire enough people to enforce the law and write tickets- they will pay for themselves, I guarantee it. If people don't pay their tickets, tow their cars. Just on my street, you should be able to raise enough money to buy a community pool.

I hope you're listening, city officials. These are solid ideas that will work. No need to even credit lil' ol' me for the ideas. Just get to work on raising some money for the city. I'd like a pool to swim in.