The City’s Pulse Newsletter

By Mary Souza, March 13, 2008

This week’s newspapers announced the city’s plan to hike our water rates. I was shocked. We all want to trust our government. But in the past month we’ve seen tax money used to pay public relations firms and lobbyists for the Urban Renewal Agency while regular folks are threatened with a lien on their homes if the sidewalk in the city’s right of way is not promptly repaired. And now our water rates will climb in an effort to make us use less, even though this looks to be a banner year for water levels. These are not great ways to make friends and influence people. These are not signs of responsive government.

The article in the Press states our water rates will increase to promote conservation. It’s not because they need the money. The Water Department started with nearly $2 million dollars leftover from last year. In addition, their Capitalization Fund stands at half a million dollars. The Water Department is one of the Enterprise Funds, which means that their money can only go for water issues. Nothing else. Their money can’t be legally used for other purposes, like, oh, say for example, an Education Corridor. But could they fudge around and buy some land they really don’t need, then later trade it for some land needed by another department in the city? Not saying it has happened. Not saying it hasn’t.

Jim Markley, city Water Department superintendent, was quoted in the Press as saying, “The city of CdA has done a good job in building excess capacity, which allows for its cheaper rates.” Kudos to you, Mr. Markley. You have done that part of your job well. But don’t raise our current rates just because you can. That makes us mad. The economic downturn is taking a toll on citizens in many ways that can’t be controlled. Don’t pile on.

This all, of course, comes on top of the $420,000 tax dollars for the Lofts luxury condos with fake brick siding, the $820,000 for the tall Parkside Tower upscale condo building which is almost completed, and a host of other LCDC projects too numerous to list. It comes on top of nearly $4.5 million public dollars given to the private church community center, without a public vote or meetings. And on top of a new library that was more than $600,000 over the approved public bond total, containing the new city council chamber/ community room combo. The city gave an additional $100,000 for this room so they’d have a state-of-the-art setting for city council meetings. But it wasn’t designed well. It has terrible sound problems, exposed video cameras, was built without drop down screens for presentations and has spotty, irritating, angled lights shining on the raised level for the council.

I report and remind you of all of this because I’m thinking of that old adage: “The best predictor of future performance is past behavior”. Certainly our city has accomplished some very good things, our current water rates being among them. But the number of mismanaged, seriously over-budget, shrouded, misrepresented projects has been astounding. It does not inspire confidence. Or trust.

So after all the missteps by the city and their cavalier attitude toward the voters, the Mayor asks us to trust them. At a meeting two weeks ago in Post Falls, the Mayor said we should trust their image of what CdA will look like in the future. She bids us to get on board with the city council’s vision because they are planning the Education Corridor, McEuen Field renovations and a major downtown parking structure. All of these projects are huge investments and ongoing financial commitments for the tax payers.

The problem is that we, the citizens, have not seen the vision. We aren’t privy to the information and have not been invited into the process. That privilege seems restricted to a select few. The Stakeholders. The elite group of people who have something to gain from the outcome, so they are asked to weigh in on the decisions.

So here’s my broken-record request to our city leaders: Please have public meetings, early and often. Show us your plans, tell us how much it will cost and ask us our opinions before the decisions are finalized. Put all large projects up for a public vote! Oh, and don’t raise our rates just because you can.

I hope and pray that our officials don’t all agree with city councilwoman Deanna Goodlander, when she was quoted in the Spokesman Review, April 24, 2001 on the library project: “I don’t think it was our intent to keep people out of the process”, she said, “we just didn’t want to mess up the deal.”

Just trust them?