2-10-08
Guy W. Midkiff
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In December, 2007, the city of Washington reported an unexpected windfall of $420,000 as a result of resolved telecom litigation.
The funds will be used for:
1) Merit Pay Raises Reinstated for city employees, $115,00 (Click here for full story in local news paper).
2)”Relieve pressure on the city budget.”
One of the issues that I hear from people in Ward 3 is that they want to keep their children in the city they grew up in, after finishing school. Others want to have more volunteerism in the community.
What if we offered incentives for our children to return to our hometown after finishing college. We could offer scholarships, grants or special loans that budding entrepreneurs could use to invest in the community in new technology companies, medicine, or engineering, instead of being held corporate hostage to large companies that demand airports and other freebies before they agree to move here.
And instead of using the money in ways that some have described as patronage programs for city employees, we invest in new volunteer programs such as one that could make sure our seniors and handicapped are looked after.
It is worth debating whether or not more consideration should have been given to doing more with “our” windfalls than using it to feed the government.
Remember, government works for you, not the other way around.
