Scary Times for Municipalities

As citizens of Helana, we all have seen the fall out in Jefferson County and what can happen to a municipality when there is a lack of oversight and control.  This is not just a problem in our own back yard, it is a nationwide problem.  In the last 2 months we have seen stories and headlines that illustrate this:

Faced with a crippling cash flow problem and divided political leadership, one of Pennsylvania's largest cities distributed paychecks last week to city workers that cut wages to the legal minimum.  Scranton's 398 city workers -- including firefighters, police officers and the mayor himself -- were paid a reduced rate of $7.25 an hour.

Bills unpaid and accounts approaching empty, California’s San Bernardino chooses bankruptcy

Stockton, the Northern California city of nearly 300,000, became the biggest when it filed for Chapter 9 on June 28. The much smaller city of Mammoth Lakes voted for bankruptcy July 3.

 

Why should you care?  Because under our nation’s current economic conditions, it is becoming increasingly difficult for local municipalities to flourish.  With the recent burst of the housing bubble and the resulting decreases in property values, comes decrease in property tax revenue.  Decreased spending on goods and services in the community results in decreases in sales tax collection. 

I bring this up not to alarm you, but to show how important it is as a citizen of Helena to know all the candidates and their views on the issues in regard to your local elections.  A few questions you should consider:

 

·         Will your representative reign in frivolous spending?

·         Will he or she be diligent in their research on capital projects before

     voting to approve or not? 

·         Will he or she support issues that encourage new local business? 

It is in your best interest to educate yourself on the views of your local officials.  You should be able to say you have confidence and trust in those that you elect to represent YOU.  As candidate for Helena City Council Place 1, it is my pledge to always do what is in the best interest of Helena as a whole.  This has been my goal over the last four years, and with your support, it will be my duty over the next four.