Bedford, Texas, group seeking tax rate rollback faces supporters of increase.

Publication: The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2004 The Dallas Morning News

Byline: Laurie Fox

Nov. 21--Henry Rogers believes that if you want good city services, you have to pay for them.

A 40-year Bedford resident, Mr. Rogers, who is 82, hates watching city employees leave for higher-paying jobs. He sees roads and buildings deteriorating and no economic engine like a mall to help pay to improve them.

"Things have just been catching up with us," Mr. Rogers said. "They've postponed everything because everyone's always hollering, 'Don't raise my taxes.'"

S.H. Stotts, a 14-year Bedford resident, isn't sure the city is running out of money. Mr. Stotts, 73, sees city leaders as "a bunch of free-spending liberals."

"We don't know where the money is going," he said.

The two residents illustrate the increasingly polarized sides of Bedford's most recent clash.

The city has weathered its share of disputes and fractious politics over the years: battles over development and a controversial road...

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