A&P Commissions - What are they good for?

Today, Senator Blanche Lincoln spent hours meeting with Benton's A&P Commission in downtown Benton. They met in a suite behind city hall. The doors were locked, the blinds were closed; citizens were kept at bay. Some media was allowed to enter, but no citizens. After all, we would not want to let the people of Arkansas interrupt such an important meeting.

While sitting outside in the hot August sun, waiting for Lincoln's exit, I began to wonder if all the secrecy and seclusion was a vice of Lincoln's or of the A&P Commission? Just what kind of modus operandi are these Commissions subject to? We may never know for sure who created such a closed atmosphere in Benton today, but here's what we do know:

• A&P Commissioners are 100% unaccountable to the voters of Searcy. (or any voters of any city in which they operate).
  

- The initial commissioners are appointed by the city council, but thereafter, the commission appoints its own members.

• A&P Commissioners have 100% control over the funds generated by the "A&P Tax."
  

- All revenue from the A&P Tax (1% on prepared foods and 3% on hotels) goes straight to the Commission. The tax will generate close to $1,000,000 per year.

• The Searcy A&P Commission has been granted the authority to place a lien on your property.

- See 17-17-18 of the A&P Ordinance.

• Violations of the Commission's regulations are punishable by Class A Misdemeanor and fines up to $1,000.

- See 17-17-23 of the A&P Ordinance.


It does not take long to see why A&P Commissions can easily become oppressive and overreaching. Yet the real tragedy is that the people of Searcy have no recourse against a Commission that is unaccountable to them.

Perhaps the citizens should have had a voice in this issue, for I fear that our fate will be much the same as Benton's--unelected bureaucrats meeting behind closed doors in "smoke-filled rooms" and begging Senators for money. The People will have no say because the Commissioners have no reason to hear their concerns--they cannot be unelected.

Is this now "business as usual" in Searcy?

I fear that the political tide has taken a large turn towards elitism in Searcy. I am running for city council to help shift that tide. With your help, we can take back our government.