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Come out from under your rock |
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Friday, 02 May 2008 |
Rocky W. Kawalski
Valley City, ND
A recent letter to the editor in the Times-Record by a person who has been living under a rock needs some common sense comments.
1. Valley City has a commission form of government. This means that commissioners are assigned responsibility for specific aspects of municipal affairs, such as street department, finance (mayor), public safety, and various other departments. The onus lies with the commissioners, not the administrator.
2. This letter implies that newly elected commissioners are not automatically competent to make operational decisions but, in fact, are intelligent enough to make policy decisions, approve budgets, obligate the taxpayers of Valley City to pay double for a new jail through property tax increases, an idea supported by special interest groups (which by their very nature are generally very selfish). GIVE US A BREAK. The implication here is that commissioners should be competent at something related to city government. It is, after all, a public service.
3. The Valley City Commission continues to approve staff increases at the managerial level, making the city top heavy. If all staffing requests are approved, it will cost nearly $250,000 in salaries and benefits. The only people to benefit from additional staff will be the rather lethargic commissioners. We don’t need to create a huge bureaucracy, which is used as a bureaucratic poker chip during city elections. Let’s give some salary increases to the lower paid people who do the work around the city.
4. Valley City government is funded primarily by property taxes (with a few exceptions). Forty-five percent of the property in Valley City is tax exempt. These are some of the very same properties which have the administrators eluded to in the letter. Their funding is different. Apples and oranges. Our tax base can not support all of the fluff.
Don’t let those born on third base with dubious working backgrounds dictate to the skilled working class, professionals and small businesses how to run the city.
Don’t be intimidated — stand up and be heard. Don’t be guilty of living under a rock.
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