Dan Tennant

and I met with John Wieland Homes months ago and asked them to donate

a parcel on the west side for the new station and they agreed. We own

the land, so why not wait until we figure out how to repair the budget

before beginning the project?

To my surprise,

Rapson just about got his head taken off by three of the other council

members for the suggestion. Nearly every curt reply from the opposing

members began with "the Fire Chief said" and carried the theme

of public safety.

What was really

strange about the whole incident was that the Fire Chief was present at

the meeting and he barely uttered a word on the subject.

Perhaps he

had remembered what had transpired at the November 2, 2000 City Council

meeting. The night of the Wal-Mart vote, many citizens raised public safety

concerns regarding the State Route 54 Corridor West.

However, the

minutes of the meeting reveal that the Fire Chief thought differently.

"He said

the bottom line was that even with an increase in traffic their response

times would probably be as good as it is now and possibly better with

the improvements made by Home Depot and Wal-Mart" (City Council,

Nov. 2, 2000).

In addition,

"[Councilman] Brooks said Chief Lohr specifically stated that the

Fire Department could get through quicker if the improvements were made."

Mayor Lenox

also spoke on this point. "He said he also had concerns about safety,

but the explanations Chief Lohr gave explained that response times might

improve with the development [Wal-Mart]."

Councilman

Brooks concluded by saying, "Three firms and the Fire Chief have

told them that things would be better if the road improvements were made."

Councilwoman

Fritz voted for the Home Depot and the Wal-Mart based on the Chief stating

the problems were nonexistent. Now, she is claiming that we cannot make

a responsible budgeting maneuver because the chief maintains that the

problems now exist. Skepticism abounds.

Building off

of what Councilman Rapson has begun, I will offer some points towards

a political budget platform.

First, make

4.25 mills the ceiling and make it a goal never to go beyond that point.

We need to aim for no tax increases and strive to maximize efficiency.

Second, with

expenditures outpacing revenue, we ought to use the hundreds of thousands

of dollars in hotel/motel tax revenue for legitimate infrastructure projects

like cart paths and roads. I will tell you up front that the value of

my home benefits from the Tennis Center expansion. However, I cannot justify

the over $2 million expense in the midst of the upcoming deficit budgets.

We own the land and we can build the expansion when budget corrections

are in place.

Third, promote

stability, predictability, and affordability in the budgetary process.

We are facing taxes for school bonds and the new county jail. Escalating

our PTC taxes by 24% to atone for prior budgeting mistakes will only make

things worse for our seniors and our young families.

I am not proposing

an austerity plan, but rather a plan that promotes consistency.

Having the

mayor pull all these expensive rabbits out of the hat with only six months

remaining in office so that the next administration can deal with the

headaches of accountability is a poor legacy indeed.

Rolling this

year's millage rate back and approving a large increase in the city's

payroll plan simultaneously was budgetary suicide. Not including the Tennis

Center expansion in the referendum and not letting the voters decide is

unacceptable.

Steve Brown

Peachtree

City

[email protected]

[Brown is

an announced candidate for mayor of Peachtree City. The Citizen welcomes

letters from candidates for all local offices and from citizens commenting

on the candidates and issues raised. We will print the letters, subject

to standard editing practices for length and conformity to libel laws,

until the week before the election.]