Some people in Carterville, Missouri say the potholes there are getting out of hand. Now the city is asking citizens to raise property taxes to fix the problem.
Supporters hope better streets will pave the way to a future growth.
Carterville residents have dealt with poor roads for years. Driving up and down the roads you can see and almost feel the stress it can put on cars.
"It kept me busy repairing tires at times," says Mickey Bulger. "I sell quite a few tires."
The town has recently proposed a comprehensive street improvement project with an $800,000 bond which would be used to purchase equipment to repair the streets.
"We decided to try to get it on a bond and go ahead and buy equipment, and that way we'd do the work ourselves," says Carterville Mayor Dale Davenport. "I've got guys here that are perfectly capable of doing the work and we even gave them a demonstration model of what kind of work we'd perform and we did it around the school."
The city plans to repay the bond over a 15 year period. The remaining funding from the projects comes from property owners at about 11 cents a day, or $35 dollars a year.
"It's going to be vital for our town because this is the only way we're going to grow," says Mayor Davenport. "Until we get the streets and stuff like this fixed, it will not only draw in more residents but also business."
Many residents we spoke with who did not want to go on camera said they don't want to see taxes go up but fixing these roads are vital.
The bond issue will be on the April 2 ballot.
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