(Ed.note: This was a posted comment that I have brought forward for better visibility.)
Bill Connors has left a new comment on your post "Plan Commission: 11-5-2007: Minimum House Size":
So much for the Smart Growth Plan. A lot of us wasted a lot of time on the process to create that document, and a lot of taxpayer dollars were wasted as well, since the Plan Commission has now abandoned it. When I was the city administrator, residents would occasionally suggested that the city government was run exclusively for the benefit of the developers and home builders. I thought that was nonsense. Now it does not seem so far fetched.
The city is spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave, borrowing money as fast as it can, and now there will be less tax base per additional citizen to pay off the debt service. Short-term gain, followed by decades of financial pain.
Bill Connors
Former Evansville City Administrator
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WoW, it's been getting harder and harder to feel compelled to comment on what to me seems like craziness out of city hall.
ReplyDeleteI haven't followed the recent home size debate, but I am right with you on the reckless spending.
Thank you Bill for saying it out loud.
They are going to bankrupt the town.
ReplyDeleteThen know one will want to live here small or big houses or whatever .
You kind of wonder if it's best just to move out of town or if you will be stuck with paying for certain people's greed long after they are gone.
ReplyDeleteBill sounds like sour grapes from a guy who left his position for another one.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot easier to shoot the messenger than address the message isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWhat reckless spending? Please point out the reckless spending specifically for us who are not as well informed.
ReplyDeleteIf this is about the downtown I was informed that this had to be done. Then the bricks were paid for by a grant. Is that correct? I really only know what I read and what I am told.
Also how does that relate to house size issue? I haven't a clue.
My problem with all of this is that on the one hand the city does many things that I unfortunately do not get well acqainted with, because going to those meetings is not easy and is frankly quite boring. This is my fault.
Then I come and view this site (thank you- mostly to find out what is going on in the city recreationally) and I see many people who complain about something the city is doing and again I have no details of the wrong.
For me the problem is - that I do not go to the meetings & the people that complain about what happens at these meetings don't tell me enough so I can make my own judgement on the issue.
I will admit that my accusation of “reckless spending” is subjective and it is to each, their responsibility to consider if my term is applicable.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a point I have often ranted about on this very blog; that it is difficult to get good information without attending every meeting. It is my opinion that it is not enough to attend a Council meeting or Planning Commission meeting. The formation of so many additional sub-committees has made it difficult to know through casual observance where any item of interest will be discussed.
You mention that the problem for you is that the people who complain…don’t tell you enough so you can make your own judgment…
I think that’s a commendable sentiment, however I would tweak it to point the finger of blame at the lack of ready quality information coming out of City Hall. If you read this site, and compare these topics to the topics of the Mayors column in the Review, you will notice a definite difference in type of information being included in her summary of city activity.
It is nearly impossible to get a clear picture of what is being done and how much it is costing around here.
The bricks were indeed paid for by a grant, but the grant included all street enhancements. I am not sure how much of the grant money went to other enhancements, thereby freeing up those tax dollars to be spent elsewhere, like the west side park.
You requested that I identify some reckless spending. I’m not going to.
It is nearly impossible to say this brick or that door was an irresponsible expense. Budget items need to be weighed between each other to determine the best use of available funds. Were the bricks a better expense at this moment than the lake? Does the East side commercial TIF negatively impact the downtown TIF? Who knows? I think time will tell.
For me, these kinds of discussions were lacking. For me this is reckless.
It is my understanding from listening to the audio provided on this site that the city is very near if not at its credit limit on borrowing. For me this is reckless.
Looking up reckless, we find: careless of consequences.
The city runs a budget based on the property taxes it collects from the parcels within its boundaries. If new homes are built of larger size, then they will generate more tax dollars per home that the city can use to pay back what it has borrowed. If the city doesn’t grow in size, either by number of new homes built or size of new homes built, or through increased commercial developments, generating increased tax revenue, then the city may have little choice but to raise our taxes to pay for the recent spending spree.
If you think the recent spending was necessary and worth a potential tax increase, then it wasn’t reckless. If growth that covers the costs of the recent spending without a tax increase is obvious, then again, the spending wasn’t reckless.
These are matters of opinion, and I can’t help you form your judgment.
bravo once again, Karen . Thank You.
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