BY DONNA WESTFALL
I left the November 19th city council meeting after the public comment period. Vici Dickey was so gracious to present me with a bouquet of red roses. Janice Wilson, Eileen Cooper and Connie Morrison all expressed their gratitude for the work and service I performed while on the city council and in particular spearheading Measure A, the moratorium to remove HFSA/fluoride. So many nice cards, calls and e-mails expressing disappointment that I lost the election. But, I was really ready for a break from politics. Thinking I could become private citizen for a few weeks or a month, clean the house, weed the yard and catch up on paperwork and sleep.[cincopa A4GAbA7JHqti]
Wrong. The phone rang. E-mails received. We were stopped at the beach walking our dog. One after another asking, “Are they nuts?”
“Nuts about what?”
“Charging for emergency services. Doesn’t our property taxes pay for those things.”
Well, we’ll find out Monday night, December 3rd, when they discuss enacting an ordinance to charge for false alarms on emergency services. Some people think it’s a ploy to tack on additional liens on property, drive out the poor and make room for the good old boys to snap up more property.
In the meantime, why aren’t they discussing discontinuing merit bonuses? Or ending the up to 5% rate increase on Attorney Bob Black’s contract coming due in January? Or having the Chamber of Commerce pay rent or utilities at the Cultural Center?
Also, getting back to fluoride for a moment, what’s going to happen to the money saved by not spending it on HFSA/fluoride? Has city hall ever arrived at a bottom line figure on how much they actually spent for the product/testing/clothing/repairs/employees, etc. per year? And when will the city water lines be considered fluoride-free? I’ve been told by people outside the area that the pool would have to be drained and refilled in order to make sure all the fluoridated water was completely out.
How about how much money has the city paid in fines connected to the sewer plant in the last 4 years? “Do you suppose we could get an answer?” Connie Morrison asked when she found a $177,000 fine. What’s with that? Is anyone on the city council going to bother to investigate or answer her question?
Are they nuts?
Best if you attend the meeting and judge for yourself.
