Well, three times wasn't a charm. Maybe the last one was a foul ball, if you need the benefit of the doubt. This question has nothing to do with reality. It is merely a probe of your belief system.
Would you be happy if we had 95% seniors?
Well, three times wasn't a charm. Maybe the last one was a foul ball, if you need the benefit of the doubt. This question has nothing to do with reality. It is merely a probe of your belief system.
Would you be happy if we had 95% seniors?
Not gonna happen. What happened to your statistics you were going to supply?
How do you get from asking if I have statistics to saying I was going to supply them? You haven't earned anything I could do by way of a response when you can't even give a simple, honest answer to a very simple question. I don't understand what you are afraid of.
Would you be happy if we had 95% seniors?
I don't think that Witchypoo's views on a demographic impossibility is helping Netmom with her original question.
OK, I think we left off deciding what kinds of folks should be recruited.
Folks who have kids who would have a need for our schools are one. Another would be those who take jobs at our federal facilities or other local institutions like the hospital. Are there others?
Another question would be how do we recruit them once we decide who they are. Obviously we can tell more once they are clearly identified but maybe we can find some general ideas.
How about some of the suggestions made by the anonymous person who sent in a LTE in the Observer a while back? As I recall, he was a DOE employee who was married and considering having kids in the near future.
How about starting with working towards NOT having the 4th highest property tax in the state?
I agree that getting a balance in the tax structure is the goal. But that means getting the sales tax up, right? Right now the only revenue source that has grown for us in the last 10 years has been the property tax.
The main focus should be on attracting the new hires that are coming in to ORNL and Y-12. It is no secret that over the next several years, there are going to be many long-time employees (I don't remember specific estimates) retiring from the Oak Ridge facilities, and there is currently a concentrated effort by the managing contractors to find replacements for the folks leaving the workforce. How does Oak Ridge attract these newbies to our fair city? Competitive housing (notice I did not say affordable housing), great schools, attractive/diverse shopping and dining outlets, and overall quality of life. I think Oakburger's gets too caught up in the property tax debate (because of the number of current residents on fixed income), but IMHO, that is the last issue that most homebuyer's look at when deciding where they want to live and raise a family. If we really want to attract other's to live here, Oakburger's need to invite everyone to the table, roll up our sleeves and turn things around.
Sorry, I ramble on................
I get so tired of the property tax debate. Does anyone realize how low the taxes are compared to other parts of the country? We are living in an area that virtually charges extremely low rates for property taxes. The problem is no one investigates other parts of the country. It is just the way it has always been so it is considered the way it should be. We need to go to the contractors and ask them to suggest that their employees live where they work. This used to be standard practice by the previous contractors. Maybe this could be a project for City Council and the powers at the plant and DOE or NNSA whoever they are.
Why not start a list of business owners that have business in Oak Ridge, but don't live here,and start a boycott. Put natures marketplace on the top of the list, along with the dead tree, and go from there.