A Simple Lack of Planning

    For anyone like me who likes to plan ahead and see clear and well-researched reasons before our City and School System spends our tax dollars, this has been a troubling week.
    First, our School Board, after having drawn up plans and specifications in March to have the new Ninth Grade Academy built at the High School, suddenly realizes in late July that there will not be enough parking left for the students.  Now, after two hastily called special noon meetings, a “change order” for $200,000 has been issued without going out for competitive bids, to build a new parking lot.  Regardless of whether or not this was legal, was it wise? And why was this not realized in March and a plan put in place to deal with it then?
     Then last Tuesday night I watched as our City Council voted 3-2 to approve the new Chief’s expansion of our Police Department when no one in the room could even give accurate and complete relevant crime statistics for Central.  In addition, there is no job description for the Assistant Chief’s position they added, and the city has no hiring or personnel procedures.  Almost $60,000 per year was approved based on a plan that was not shown to the public until during last night’s meeting.  This funding is the first step in the Chief’s plan that calls for another approximately $250,000 in annual funding by 2018.  How will we pay for that, and how much more is coming?
     In the case of the School Board it seems that there continues to be a failure to plan.  In this early test case of the City Council there seems to be an unwillingness to plan.  I should mention that Council Members Jason Ellis and Wayne Messina voted to defer the matter until a long term plan could be developed.  Thanks gentlemen.
     It seems that the recurring theme here is that if our City Council or School System wants to spend your money and they have the votes to do it, having a long term plan is simply not required.  One reader commented to me that funding an Assistant Chief and expanded Police Headquarters without a comprehensive long term plan is like the husband who tells his wife he wants to buy a boat trailer, just because he can.  We all know the purchase of a boat, and probably a camp, can’t be too far behind, but let’s not talk about that yet.
     Central has demonstrated its ability to plan ahead with Land Use, Zoning, Traffic, and Sewer Master Plans being carefully developed before taxpayer dollars were spent in these areas.  Let’s not abandon this prudent approach to good stewardship of our citizen’s tax dollars.
     The Council Meeting ended without any plans to justify additional funding of what has been, up until now, a volunteer Central Police Department.  How about let’s at least stop the funding here and get a long term comprehensive public safety plan, along with some common-sense personnel policies?   After this week, that would be some welcomed Good News for a Great City!