To the editor:

Crestwood voters will go to the polls Aug. 5 to decide whether or not to authorize a quarter-cent fire sales tax for our city.

The decision you make will determine how we will plan for and manage the city’s business in the future.

In my articles for the Crestwood Con-nections, I have explained the issues, the alternatives, and the significance of this decision for you.

After the last issue of Connections went to print, we discovered that certain elements of the budget for the year ending June 30, 2003, were wrong.

Because of these errors, our plans for the 2004 fiscal year required an adjustment of about $750,000.

If things remain the same, we now project a deficit for the current fiscal year of $112,010.These errors, which have been completely reported in the local media, make our problem immediate.

However, they do not change our basic choice. We must find a new source of revenue or we must significantly reduce our costs of providing services to our community.

If we must reduce services, it means that we must look very hard at the Police and Fire departments.

As a resident of the city, I know how I believe we should proceed. As your mayor, I need your guidance.

Therefore, I urge each one of you to go to the polls and vote.

The importance of this decision is such that I would prefer to be guided by 100 percent of the voters in Crestwood.

This is not a decision that should be made by a minority of the eligible voters in the city.

James E. “Jim” Robertson

mayor, city of Crestwood