Sent to the Daily Post
Editor
We have elections for a reason, and as Terry Goldman recently opined in the Daily Post,
Council is empowered to make decisions on what to build and how to fund
it subject to public input at regular intervals, i.e., election day, or
at other critical times through referendum. The question of whether to
build a more elaborate aquatic center is one of those decisions we as a
community make, either directly via a bond issue or via a vote by
council to spend our money.
Every community wants more stuff and ours is no exception. That said,
once we build more stuff, we have the eternal obligation to maintain it.
That costs money through staffing and maintenance outlays. Hence it
requires us to raise these funds either through growing the economy or
raising taxes.
Ever since LANL was privatized, Council and some citizens have seen this
as a cash cow windfall. Indeed, Council has decided to speak for the
work force in demanding that LANL stay private so that the county can
continue to spend money like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Given the
decision on who will manage LANL and what the terms of the new M&O
contract will be are up in the air, all I call for is prudence.
I for one, having grown up in a community that saw its industries rust
away, am a bit ashamed that one of the most financially well-off
communities in the US might demand that the taxpayers of the Republic,
many of whom can't afford a new roof over their heads, are being asked to
pay a GRT surcharge so we can build a more elaborate swimming pool. At some point one has
to ask if we have enough already.
Khal Spencer
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