At the Hickory City Council meeting, September 15th, we saw a clear example of the poor decision making process that too often occurs here. On an impulse the Mayor stated that he wanted a new sign with the City’s newly designed logo placed at the intersection of Tate Blvd and LR Blvd. The road will be re-opened in October and Mr. Wright, enthusiastically supported by Mrs. Patton, decided on a whim that the sign would be pretty and make a splash.
The logo was designed as part of the Wayfinding Program that was discussed and voted on earlier in the year. At that time, when the $73,500 for the design was approved, the plan was that the signs would be purchased in phases. The total cost of City wide signage will be several hundred thousand dollars and was to be phased in over a number of years as funds were available and one would assume that there would be some logical progression to it. Now it seems that we won’t worry about the budget or what the priorities for sign placement are, but, whenever the mood strikes the Mayor or Council we’ll put a sign up somewhere. And with an election coming up I guess they are feeling festive.
Our tax base is eroding, few building permits are being issued, housing values are stagnant, which means we are headed for budget problems soon. Should we be impulse spending now? And is this the professional, methodical way we expect our City finances to be handled? Some would say it’s only $6,100 and we can afford it. That’s not the point. The point is money is tight now and we need to be good stewards of what we have. Impulse spending is not wise for family budgets and it is poor public policy. If tax rates have to be raised to pay the City’s bills, Mr. Wright and Mrs. Patton’s impulse spending will only make a tough situation worse. The taxpayers deserve better.
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Friday, September 18, 2009
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7 comments:
This goes back to debt issue I mentioned earlier. The other issue is how the State and Federal Governments account for spending. These funds are spent or lost out of the next budget year. We do not give any incentive to not use all the money in the budget because it will go back to Raleigh to be wasted. This is the preverbial "Perfect Storm".
I know the original money from the wayfinding project came from the parking ticket fund from downtown. I think this money would come from the general fund, which is developed from a multitude of sources.
Not to be redundant, but to emphasize my comment made immediately after the Council Meeting on 9/15 -
So the highlight of Tuesday's meeting is that the City, in the infinite wisdom of our elected leaders and their appointed minions, are going to pay $6,100.00 (plus the inevitable overruns) to put up a sign in the middle of town to tell people where they’re at, all so Rudy can have another opportunity to cut a ribbon?
The Mayor ought to get credit – his enthusiasm for ribbon cutting has waned since Council clipped his wings early on. It’s a little known fact that members of Council and the Mayor get a stipend for attending any municipal functions - $50.00 a meeting. It adds up to substantial dollars for some of the Council Members.
Rudy was initially dinging the City for $50.00 every time a new tanning salon opened its’ doors and he showed up to speechify. He eventually had to give back several thousand dollars, which he did in the form of a check that he attempted to designate as a “donation” to “keep the library open.”
The City then had a Finance Director with some kahonies who didn’t let that happen, unlike the senior management folks who now hold that much-abused public trust. The money was returned to general fund, despite Hizzoner’s wishes, and he was told that he couldn’t keep asking for payment to supplement the sign shop income for these trivial things which, frequently, he wasn't asked to appear at but simply decided to show up and be official.
So to summarize - we can’t get some pretty essential functions done in the City because of budget concerns during the worst economic recession since the great depression but our tax dollars are going to be used to make another sign to usher the unknowing and lost little lambs into the sacred borders of Downtown?
Here's a news flash, Council -- those of us who live here know where we're at. Those who happen to wander in can check the signs on the interstate as they take the exit. Given that Downtown Hickory is NOT the tourist destination that Sally Fox and the DDA would have us believe, the "cost per look" for the dozen folks a year who inadvertently stumble across this sillyness and would actually be informed of their location on the Planet Earth is going to be pretty significant.
Is this REALLY the best use of our tax dollars?
Is it possible that people aren’t paying attention, or are the citizens of Hickory simply worn down by the continued stupidity in office to the point that they don't care any more?
Your redundancy and concerns are valid, but most of us are unaware of the inner workings of City Government. The input provided here is invaluable to help understand the story of what is going on and the philosophies behind the actions of the "Powers That Be" in Hickory.
I hope that over time more people will take more interest in these issues and more accountability can be brought to the process. I think everyone understands that there is a limit to what the Hound can do because of time and budgetary constraints.
My only wish is that the Hickory Daily Record would take more interest in the inner workings of the "City of Hickory" and independently try to assess what has caused the stagnation this city has incurred for years.
The Hound has come a long way in the last year, but it is obvious that we still have a long way to go. Thank You to everyone that contributes and input comments and suggestions.
It’s no secret that newspapers are failing all over the country as revenues decline and their readership and legitimacy as a source of information is reduced. One only needs to compare the HDR and the Charlotte Observer to recognize that probably 80% of the newspaper, other than pictures of kittens and grandchildren and big fish, comes from national sources. There is little, if any, independent content of any particular consequence published in the HDR.
The place they have the potential to make an impact is local news. Not just the announcements that everyone puts in about promotions and new doctors and employee training, but legitimate topics of concern.
That’s not happening because of a relationship about which most people are unaware.
Legal publications are those little box notices in the back that nobody reads. They’re required when certain actions are occurring and the public is to be aware. The legislature has mandated when the requirements of those notices are.
Most of the time, they can be run in any newspaper in the County that meets the statutory qualifications. Thus, HDR is directly competing with the News and Observer (and maybe others).
The fees for these publications are not regulated. The newspaper can charge whatever they want, and HDR is one of the most expensive in Western North Carolina. HDR knows this, and don’t want to annoy the gurus of the City and watch the revenue go to Newton.
These notices are a fallback to a bygone day. They are largely unread and even when they are, they’re incomprehensible so it takes a Philadelphia lawyer to understand.
The City does other things that are required to inform the public. The signs that are posted on the property are actually the best solution for making sure that the people near whatever is changing are notified. (About $10.00 each, and, in the interest of fairness I note that Rudy does NOT sell these to the City and is prohibited from doing so). Notices in newsletters and water bills cost next to nothing and are more likely to be read. Direct mailing is used for if you want to have some type of assurance that the people affected actually get the information, such as zoning changes or expansion of the Historic District.
If you compare the local readership of the HDR with the subscription numbers, then winnow that down even further to the people who actually see the notice, then to those who read and comprehend – how many people have we actually notified? 50? 10?
Notices can be hundreds or thousands of dollars, and are required by the law. The change in that law is through the General Assembly, not the City Council. This is, however, a significant form of income to the newspaper and you can bet your bottom tax dollar that they’re not going to upset that apple cart by annoying the City to the point that they take their business elsewhere.
Think about it – why would you pay 60% MORE for the same product (because remember, we’re not actually notifying anyone with these notices, we’re just fulfilling the legal requirement) when you could save that money by publishing in Newton? To put it another way, if you had to purchase a parking permit, and one was $10.00 and one was $2.00, and you weren’t going to park there anyhow, which one would you most likely purchase, all other things being equal? Throw in the fact that your boss’s nephew owns the lot selling the $10.00 permits, though, and the reason for the higher priced purchase becomes more obvious. There is an intangible benefit to be obtained by spending money unnecessarily.
One final note – Hound, I your efforts are not appreciated. It takes a lot of time to ferret out some of the information you’ve shared, and I know that you get stonewalled by the City frequently despite the laws about open records. I also understand why more employees of the City can’t come forward, because they need their jobs and are afraid. I do hope people continue to share their knowledge about facts that are important and might not otherwise be available.
Hound, I just realized there's a typo in the last paragraph of my prior post that wasn't caught, and I apologize -- it should have read, "I hope you realize that your efforts are appreciated." The work you do is difficult and somewhat thankless. You bring out things of which others might be unawares without that effort on your part.
Sorry for any misunderstanding that occurred.
Nah, I understood what you were saying and I appreciate you saying it. I think everyone wants to feel like they are appreciated and in ways I am no different.
Of the People, By the People, and For the People is why we are here. This community will either succeed or fail together and I don't think many people around here understand that concept.
This is one community and I hope that one day we come to that understanding and we stop compartmentalizing every sector of the community and start looking at the big picture. Your comments (along with others here) help people see the big picture and what has contributed to the malaise our community is experiencing.
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