Support parks-soils tax renewal

To the editor:

Few issues today work to bring people together rather than drive them apart. But when you have farmers, environmentalists, rural residents a, city dwellers, bikers and bird watchers all working together, you know you've found an issue vital to all Missourians.

That's Amendment 1, the renewal of the parks-and-soil sales tax. On Aug. 8, we have the opportunity to reauthorize this one-tenth-of-a-cent statewide sales tax. Since 1984, this efficient, effective tax has been providing the primary funding for Missouri state parks and soil conservation programs.

It's easy to see why Amendment 1 has earned such broad, strong support statewide. For the past two decades, these funds have been put to work as promised, with visible results in every one of our parks and throughout our farmland. In addition, this funding measure has built-in taxpayer accountability through a sunset provision that requires that the tax come before voters for renewal every 10 years.

As the former president of the Missouri Farm Bureau and as the current mayor of Columbia, we are proud to serve as co-chairs of the grassroots committee working for Amendment 1. We represent the full spectrum of Missourians, rural and municipal, who directly benefit through decreased soil erosion, cleaner water and well-maintained state parks.

Without Amendment 1, state funding of these important programs would be lost. Please renew our parks-and-soil sales tax Aug. 8 by joining us in voting yes on Amendment 1.

DON FISCHER and DARWIN HINDMAN, Co-chairs,

Citizens Committee for Soil, Water and State Parks, Jefferson City, Mo.