Voters speak on conservation tax

To the editor:

No one likes taxes less than I. However, the one tax that I am 100 percent for is the conservation tax. It is not that I think we necessarily need that amount of money for conservation, but I like the way the tax works. We, the voters, determine exactly what the money is spent for. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only tax in existence that we have true control over. We approved this tax to be used only for conservation. The politicians can't spend it for some pet project. It isn't like the gasoline tax that is supposed to be for roads but is spread around for other things.

I am absolutely for monitoring the way the funds are spent with regular audits by the state and oversight by the legislature. But keep your hand off the money. If we are spending more than necessary for conservation, then let's roll the tax back.

It is a small thing, perhaps, but we, the people, have absolute control over one tiny bit of our tax money.

NEIL DITTLINGER, Benton, Mo.