Rant of the Day…
27JUL18
Can Ward Cleaver the Beast?
Down here on the border there is much fraud, waste, and abuse or as I like to call it Tyranny. When governments use a Central System, the Politburo of the old USSR comes to mind, Tyrants become easy to identify since they often times refuse to cull the herd when funding through sales taxes are reduced. It goes back to it being a Public Park, when we all own it, no one does.
This is a facebook response to a gentleman’s suggestion that the City of Sierra Vista, AZ become a Charter City and introduce a Ward system to its representation instead of the current At-Large system that in place.
Link below:
Excellent points Mr Crosby.
Merely spit-balling and exchanging ideas here, inspired by the ‘hybrid’ code enforcer/building inspector idea presented by the Community Development Department Director a few Council/Work Sessions ago.
How about four wards with two year terms, so that folks can hold their representation accountable, much like the State and Federal representation model used in this State on many levels.
Three seats with four year terms which would include the Mayor, Mayor Pro Temp, and a Councilmember-at-Large which would represent us all and be more in tune with the business community.
The thought process being that if it is a concern of a section of their local community (sector/ward), one member of the Council could be the ‘point person’ of the local electorate to stimulate conversations to provide a solution that the neighborhood deems proper, thereby mitigating conflict creation that stimulates the perception that government must grow to provide the ‘final’ solution to the perceived concern.
The wards could be created by the historical voting records for City elections (a census of sorts) for the last 20 years or more. This would be the most accurate way of ensuring the wards represent the voting electorate, regardless of socio-economic standing. Wards could be adjusted each decade by a ‘census of voters’ instead of merely a count of the transient military households who often times vote in the precincts of their home of record vice, precinct of their current residence.
In my humble opinion, this might just be the way to demonstrate to the folks in areas [TARGETTED] for annexation, such as Fry Township that their voice will not be muted in local governance, but embraced as equally important to those whom we all are being forced to pay Tribute too. It would require the representation to be more in tune with the populace, especially when splitting up funding equally amongst the wards (think parks, bike paths, commercial zoning, etc) to ensure that tax dollars are not concentrated in areas that honestly pit one ward against another thereby creating the requirement for compromises to be made, and most likely would reduce the amount of unanimous or rubber stamp votes that can be seen on most every vote by increasing debate amongst the members of Council.
Robin, it is not about electing a Manager its is about managing what direction or courses of action the Manager accomplishes for the good of the Community. I think you missed the point Mr. Crosby is attempting to make.
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) it would be more difficult for a Council member to receive 700 to 1000 votes in a particular ward, than the 3000-3500 currently used as the bar to elevate over as required to be elected to the position(s) currently.
I believe the perception of fear of the possible future corruption in the ward system is ignoring the watered down representation we currently have that honestly breeds corruption by limiting public input (see last nights council meeting when a member of the public identified the problems with a $70 Million budget for a town our size. Due the math to how much debt is placed over each head of the citizens of our town.
70,000,000/35,000 =$2000 per person
70,000,000/40,000=$1750 per person
70,000,000/45,000=$1556 per person
70,000,000/50,000=$1400 per person
(Federally Fended Grants of Financial Privilege are a significant funding source that provide a 5-20% administrative overseers funding fee (think City employees not paid by sales taxes))
Since the population count is skewed by the annexation of the Ft Huachuca for population count in the 70’s to allow for Federal Grants of Financial Privilege or subsidies to be disbursed to this strategic area along the border, I have taken the Liberty to demonstrate the True Cost of the City Budget per person.
If there were a Ward System in place we could furthermore divide where the budgeted money is being spent, and allow for Council to direct Management on what to do with it, where it is needed in each ‘sector’ (City used it for Fry annexation/why can’t we Citizens have Sectors (Wards) for our members on the Council? In the City which is honestly the safest place to live along the International Border.
I would recommend folks due some research on the accounting requirements for Federally Funded Grants of Financial Privilege, for Community Development Block Grant (CBDG), Operation Stone Garden
The point I am attempting to get across is that the SVPD is largely funded through Federally Funded Grants of Financial Privilege through Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the ‘pass through agency’ Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It funds everything but the pension, hence the $¾ million dollar shortfall for the PSPRS.
I thought I lived in Sierra Vista, Arizona not New Orleans, Louisiana.
Perhaps the lesson learned or BLUF is the following: It (every layer of governance) can and will create conditions that justify Its existence, prior to taking the Red Pill and understanding that It is creating (has created, will continue to create as required) conditions that are listed in the document that created the very Nation this State is part of for the Common Defense.
You know the one with the words ‘Self-Evident’, ‘Assent’, and ‘Usurpations’ in it?
Again, Mr. Crosby great points that could stimulate conversation to make this experiment in Self Governance more effective by reducing the financial burden placed upon us all, whether it be residence within The Safest City along the International Border with Mexico, or folks from say the States of Ohio, West Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee or other States in the center of our Nation.
That debt after all (aka federal tax dollars) comes from other citizens of other States at a margin of what 49:1?
Remember business is nothing more than a lie agreed upon to turn a dollar, when government is in business it is not an Enterprise it is a MONOPOLY.
But, you will never read that in the propaganda rag of a newspaper (that has less circulation than many local social media news outlets), or see it on the channels of television (tel-LIE-vision) programming, since it is bad for business and therefore bad for government (read) enterprises (interpreted MONOPOLIES).
I have written a blog for over the last year that has listed many, most likely not all, of these concerns in an attempt to exchange ideas and share wisdom acquired through my life time of service of our Nation.
Sorry this is so long, I guess I will make it my blog entry (rant of the day) for the day.
Peace out……
There endith the rant…..
https://web.archive.org/web/20080217211817/http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/hsgp/index.shtm