Published: November 30, 2007 11:09 pm            

Reader: We are paying too much to live in a city that is behind the times

Have the inmates taken over the asylum, or is voter apathy at fault?

That is a good question and I don’t really know the answer but let me play “Gary Herrity” for a minute and look back into Clinton’s history!

From the time I was 8 years old in 1953, I remember my Grandparents wondering if the city administration were ever going to reach a decision about parking meters and if they were ever going to do anything about the two foot high curbs along both sides of Fifth Avenue.

In 1963 when I left for college at the University of Wisconsin, the argument still raged! All talk and no action! When I returned from college five years later there was still no decision. When I enlisted in the Marines and left for 12 years and returned to care for my aging surviving grandparent, I found the curbs gone and total upgrades happening on Fifth Avenue.

The only problem — Sears, Wards, Penney’s, Grants, Woolworths, Petersons and Klines were gone. The only long-time retailers left were Wagner’s, Zirkelbachs, Boegels, Browns Shoes, and Guzzardos. This was the advent of the super stores outside the downtown area and we were behind the learning curve as usual.

The downtown is beautiful now but not a single major corporate retailer in sight! Now there is even more rumors flying of more streetscape improvement but for what reason? Our administration is spending money that yields no return in monetary manner!

Going to the current times. I and a friend went to the meeting at the Moose on the impending rate increase in water rates; a meeting poorly attended by a city of this size on an issue that effects all of us. Thanks to the presence of our city manager, some interesting information was gained, information I might add that never even made it to the newspaper. Statements by the CEO of Iowa American that the 26.7 percent rate increase would also result in a proportional increase in the $24.96 maintenance fee for the fire hydrant maintenance fee so in reality the increase might be 30 percent to 40 percent; he also admitted under the city administrator’s questioning that one of the main reasons was a decrease in water usage which affects their bottom line. It doesn’t take a computer scientist to realize the water usage is going down because the sewer rate went up and it is based on water usage! What is the matter with the people of this city? We also found out that the city has approved the actions of ADM to drill three wells into our aquifer (one 800 feet deep and two 300 feet deep ) for their exclusive usage. If we have a really dry year, has anyone considered either the public or the city administration that this could possibly affect the availability of water for every man, woman and child in the city?

Then there is the “Me Too”-isms in city services. We definitely need a new police station and as soon as that is brought up, then we need a new fire station and then we needed two new educational facilities and got them, and now the school board needs a 37 cent per thousand increase in property tax to fund their needs, and the city of Clinton owes over $23 million, which figures out to approximately $900 dollars for every living breathing individual in the city. What happened to fiscal responsibility?

What happened to the infrastructure of the city? In our area of the first ward, we pray for snow so that the snow will pack down and freeze in the pot holes so you can drive on most streets in the area without blowing a tire or ruining the suspension at more than 5 mph!

On my street there is a fire hydrant sticking two feet out into the actual sealcoated street!

The result of all this is that there are a lot of people in the city that have been here 60 years or more that are on fixed incomes that are going to be forced out of their homes into care centers, or nursing homes by this unbridled spending! They have contributed all their lives to the success of this city and its economic welfare and now with rising gas costs and heating bills and and sewer bills and water bills and food bills, property assessments that result in increased property tax when property appraisals are going down, and their reward for years of loyalty and service is being forced out of their homes. Sure seems totally unfair!

Have the people of this city become so insular or apathetic that if they aren’t personally affected they are not interested? Our city is reactive rather than proactive and that is why we are always behind the economic “eight ball!”



Floyd T. Neubauer,

Clinton

        

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