A good way for Republicans to get a head start on the next Mayor’s race is to start making Mayor Charles Meeker’s runaway spending an issue. Now.

On top of proposing to raise taxes on new homes, and raising property taxes to pay for a school bonds and raising property taxes two years ago, the City Council now is talking about raising property taxes again to pay for more spending.

Right now, the City wants to spend $11 million more that it has, for items like:

• Six new policemen for a downtown foot and bicycle patrol;
  
• $150,000 for daily cleaning of Fayetteville Street, along with quarterly pressure washing;
  
• And, $100,000 for an observation platform to monitor outdoor events downtown.

Republican Councilman Philip Isley has proposed shifting federal money from the regional lite-rail system to schools and roads as an alternative to more borrowing and higher taxes.

But lite-rail is one of Mayor Meeker’s pet projects. The Mayor has increased spending to pay for a downtown hotel, a five-star restaurant, an upscale supermarket and a $40 million dollar underground parking garage. Now he wants more spending and higher taxes to pay for it.

The City Council is spending money like a sailor on a spree. It’s time Republicans offered voters an alternative.