When told there are no other options, the skeptic in us takes that to mean there are no options anyone wants to talk about. That's how we feel about the new $2 million bond issue to bring the Eureka Springs sewage system into compliance with state law. Water and sewer rates will increase 30 percent under the plan.

Since most of the city council believes the residents will take the issue to referendum, it would be good to have an alternative to the proposal.

The "only option" laid out to city council is a $2 million, 25-year bond which will cost users nearly $1.5 million in interest. Rates will go up 30 percent now, and who knows how much more as other problems arise? We'd bet that sometime within 25 years a new treatment plant will be called for, and there will be a whole new set of old pipes to repair. The system is not getting any younger and gravity continues to do its thing to this vertical city.

The bond attorney told council that under normal circumstances he would have advocated a sales tax to pay off the bonds for the repairs. However, because interest rates are so low, bond buyers are not interested in sales-tax-guaranteed bonds.

We like the sales tax alternative, but not for 25 years to pay off bonds. A better way would be a short-term sales tax and a pay-as-we-go plan to repair the system. A three-quarter percent sales tax would pretty much pay for the current repairs in about three years, with no interest, no long-term debt and no water bill increase.

It's unlikely the repairs would be completed any quicker than three years, so why wouldn't the state go along with such a plan? The city could prioritize the project and give the state a detailed plan with a timetable and payment schedule. If the state sees progress and a completion date within a few years, they will likely go along with us.

We understand there's a lot of resistance to more sales tax. Retail merchants complain they lose customers now as the tax approaches 10 percent and worry a higher tax will seriously hurt their business. We think communication with the customer could go a long way toward softening resistance.

Eureka Springs is a city of 2,000 that needs to maintain an infrastructure for 25,000. Without our visitors helping to pay, we could not maintain. The visitors should help pay -- it is they who overburden our infrastructure.

So we don't reach this predicament again in a few years, the city also needs impact fees -- additional charges added to building permits for new development which are set aside for future infrastructure needs. It isn't fair for the same residents to be paying over and over to improve the sewer system when new businesses can just come in and add to the burden. Impact fees are common elsewhere and it is scandalous we don't have them here. Small, regular rate increases are also needed.

Look at the difference in cost between "the only option" and our proposition. We're told that small, residential users will only see a $5 a month increase in their water/sewer bill. Over 25 years that adds up to $1,500. With a three-year, three-quarter cent sales tax, a person purchasing $600 worth of goods a month in the city would pay $4.50 a month in additional tax or $162 to complete the project. That's a big difference, and for a lodging business, the difference is monumental.

Residents petitioning for referendum should also carry a sales tax petition. It's better to say no when you have an alternative plan. A full-cent tax would be best, with a quarter cent going to parks. And yes, we have heard the governor wants to raise the state sales tax, a proposal to which we should all just say no. The state gets plenty, we need tax money more here at home.