I would suppose that 'they" have to blame it on something for losing the general obligation bond referendum. Today it is voter apathy.
The Palm Beach Post editorials (that no longer have a name attached to their opinion), are nothing more than anonymous commentary and sometimes just take potshots as is the case of today's editorial. They blamed the low turnout in the Primary election to voter apathy. Perhaps that is exactly what it was...what it always is especially in Primary elections. But the month of August had a lot to do with low turnout. Snowbirds are still in the north and people who live here year-round just are not in residence. I would suppose that this was a city strategy.
It bemoaned the fact that we voted down the need to fix our roads and infrastructure by basically putting 1/3rd of the property owners in debt for 34 years on road repairs that would last less than half that time. They failed to mention the multi-millions going into private property to attract development that might never occur. Do they have any conception of how much money $63,500,000.00 is? They never once mentioned the bad timing of this bond, the rate of poverty, unemployment and a city struggling to rise from the ashes of a terrible recession. Never once did they, just like the City of Lake Worth, listen or even seek the other side of the argument which might have explained why this was defeated last Tuesday.
They said that by not voting we ceded our "basic democratic responsibility to those able to move voting blocks: Big-money donors, clandestine political operatives, unions." Let me be clear about this--It was not Citizens Against Unfair Taxation that had big money donors, political operatives or union money. But the City, with all its clout, had all of these things. They never mentioned the humongous and expensive campaign put on by the city using taxpayer money to win this which divided resident against resident. They never once mentioned David and Goliath.
Lake Worth had a higher voter turn-out than the rest of the county. 10% versus 20.72% in Lake Worth.
ReplyDeleteOMG..I have lived in College Park area for 20+years and rarely have been in the south area of L W for awhile but as I took a shortcut thru e st I couldn't believe how awful the neighborhoods looked. New streetswon't do a thing for this whole area. LW needs a contributing tax base and needs to do what the town of Jupiter did over a period of time. They now have a prospering business and improved housing that all arepaying taxes instead of drawing down on their City.
ReplyDeleteCome on Comm and Mayor.......get to work on this.
The city had 63 million reasons to not tell the facts to the voters.
ReplyDeleteWhat excuse does the Palm Beach Post have?
Katie Mcgiveron
Oh please, the City had $50,000 of our tax money and the bully pulpit and still couldn't distort and misrepresent the facts enough to get people to vote for a major tax increase.
ReplyDeleteRemember that cup of coffee graphic, the City stopped using it after a while when they were called out for misrepresenting the true cost.
City would have been better off spending the $50,000 to fill a couple of pot holes, City needs to focus on crime and blight and code.