Thank you to Council Members Gerrie Schpske, Rae Gabelich and Steve Neal for thinking of the residents of the City and presenting a logical and comprehensive and transparent budget recommendation that would have provided the residents with additional services and increased public safety.
The telephone town hall that the three council members held drew an audience of over 2,100 participants and at Tuesday’s council meeting the comment line in support of the 3 council members well thought out plan was long and impressive.
As Rae said Tuesday night, the public wants to be involved in the budget. They have to be, they are the ones most affected by the budget, and it is our money!
Instead of discussing where the money will go in public, the 14th floor would rather do it in private and put it on the agenda long after the public has gone home. Why discuss the budget after you pass it?
What a shame that the other council members found it easier to bow to the mayor’s “either you are with me or not” attitude. He wants to get his way at a time when they should have been working together to respond to the residents of this city in public not in private.
The mayor stated that the prudent thing to do is to save it for the future; the problem is that the “savings” doesn’t stay saved but are doled out by the Mayor as a reward to those who vote with him.
My feeling is 2014 needs to come quickly so we can elect a mayor who does not threaten a veto whenever he wants to take the win from a council person and put them in his or her “place.” Just remember that the council represents the people and we should never allow them to identify the issues, we the people should identify what we know the priorities to be in our communities.
Council Member Gary DeLong said the budget adjustments are painful; yes they are especially in 2012, an election year, and shame on the representatives from the communities most in need yet don’t even attempt to fight for their constituent.
Libraries, Parks, Police and Fire are the basic needs of any community, especially the 1st, 4th 6th and 9th. Thank you, Steve Neal for having the guts to fight for your community, would that my councilman and the others had the fortitude to do the same.
