Spend, Spend, Spend

I live outside of the official "City Limits" of Grand Junction. With subdivisions going in on all sides of the subdivision where I live. So the City will engulf my property within the next 4 or 5 years I am sure. The problem I get to enjoy is every time the city comes up with a new way to increase taxes on a long term project, I get no say in the matter, yet a few years down the road I get to be "honored" to pay the new taxes, fun huh?

The issue I am going to talk about today is the City's plan for a new police/fire station complex. Several months ago I was called by some guy doing a survey on this very subject. I usually reject survey calls, but I was feeling frisky and thought "why not torture some poor guy in Denver or New York (knowing full well the city doesn't like to use local services)".

The questions started with sales pitch type questions like: Do you feel safe? Do you think the response time for police and fire departments have been adequate to your household?(I responded affirmatively having never had to deal with either since I got a speeding ticket 7 years ago).

Then came the all important tax questions like: "How much do you make year?" and "Would you miss not having disposable income?" I started getting scared....

As the caller continued to question me about how much I want my taxes raised and how I want them raised. It felt to me, by the way the questions were asked, that they were trying to get me to say I would support a sales tax increase for the police/fire complex. But I really studied the questions and gave my plumb and square responses. Finally I was done, I made it through my first test as a future City citizen.

A month or two after the survey I heard the results:70% of the people wanted a new police/fire station and were willing to pay more sales taxes for it. Hummmm... That means that 30% of the people actually were not tricked by the questions and answered correctly, 30% were confused by the questions and answered 1 or more questions in the city's favor, and 40% either wanted the police/fire station or already understand the city gets what it wants no matter the survey results and gave up during the survey.

I need to put my little disclaimer in here now, because I don't really like people mailing me to say I hate the police or some such stupid thing. The disclaimer is: Police and firemen are our friends, I really believe that, and I don't wish harm on them and do hope they have an adequate place to work in the City. What I do not like is the way the City spends money on all kinds of other rather foolish things without a thought of the people it represents. Let me give some examples: There was a $25,000 iron kite placed by a dog park (I guess art is appreciated by dogs when they are doing their business). The $27,000 letterhead for City stationary. A million bucks to make an off ramp look pretty. Maybe I should mention the redesign of 7Th street, Colorado Avenue and adding a parking garage (oh I forgot that is the "donation" to the Downtown Business Authority - the real power in town). So my disclaimer is Policemen and Firemen good. Stupid and thoughtless spending bad.

Anyway, because the Police/Fire Station involved a tax increase the City was required to go to the people and ask for the money. The people responded with a resounding - "NO!!!" That is great but I can see the City already planning a way around that minor detail. I noticed, in the news, that the contractor that built the current police station in the 1980's said that it was designed to be added onto knowing full well the police department was going to grow, but the City already bashed that idea saying it won't work some way or another....and the scheming begins.....