Golden Spike tax revenue petition drive fails
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Associated Press - November 25, 2009 9:05 AM ET
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) - A petition drive to redirect tax revenue for the Golden Spike monument in North Platte has failed to qualify for the ballot.
Lincoln County authorities rejected around a third of the more than 3,200 signatures turned in by members of the Western Nebraska Taxpayers Association.
Organizers don't want the 2 percent hotel tax collected by the city to be used for Golden Spike operations. They want it used only for paying off a federal rural development loan that helped build the monument, which is an observation tower overlooking Union Pacific Railroad's Bailey Yard.
Organizers want any excess hotel tax revenue to go to the city for tax relief.
Currently, money from tax is used for loan payments, with the excess given to the Golden Spike for operations.
On the Net:
Golden Spike: http://www.goldenspiketower.com/(underscore)new/
Western Nebraska Taxpayers Association: http://www.wnta.org/
Information from: The North Platte Telegraph, http://www.nptelegraph.com
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