The state senate has started work on a plan to let some local officials legally divert tax dollars that some people think they’ve been illegally diverting for years. A quarter-century ago the legislature approved letting people levy special taxes to fund sheltered workshops, residential living quarters for the handicapped, and related services. But some of the local boards administering that money have been spending it on programs that might be beyond the intent of the original law. The senate is considering a proposal to let them keep doing that, legally. Some senators say that diversion should require further voter approval. But Butler Senator Harold Caskey says voters should have to approve ADDITIONAL taxes for any programs beyond the original ones in thelaw. The senate disagrees…And when it returns to this issue, it will be deciding whether a public vote of any kind is needed before those funds can be used for other things.
