Public Policy must treat Everyone equally

Below is the content of an editorial written by Linda Geist in the January 26, 2011 Lake Gazette. My letter to the editor reply is posted below.

Editorial by Linda Geist
Credit. It’s a funny thing. When you don’t need it, everybody wants to give you more. When you need it, it’s nowhere to be found.
The mayor and I have had some rather heated e-mails recently about credit. We politely call it an extension on your utility bill. I call it credit.
Recently the council, in closed session, extended a payment plan on utilities to a business. At the time of extension, the business, the Monroe City Inn, owed nearly $10,000. In the end, the bank is now responsible for future bills, but not necessarily the past.
The situation was not unlike one we reported on just weeks earlier when we got the bankruptcy settlement notice on another business, with no local ties.
Several local people, including small business people who have owned property here for many years and have generations of their family buried in the local cemetery, have complained that they are granted no leniency if they are late in their utility bills, and yet, businesses owned by those with no long-standing ties are given extensions. It seems to be a valid argument.
In our last lengthy conversation, I suggested to the mayor that out-of-town owners be held to a different standard. He and I respectfully disagree about this issue, he being charged to keep local businesses here, and find new ones to locate here. There is a risk factor involved. Just like when you go to the bank, one of the first questions asked is “How long have you lived at your residence?” And the one before that? Do you own or rent? Who have you had previous loans with?
They do this to determine if you have ties to the community, if you’re stable, or if you’re a flight risk if you default on a loan. The bank wants to know how to find you to squeeze blood out of the turnip should you not produce the green dollars each month. And they should. It’s their job.
Just as it is the City’s job. Because, in effect, the council is making high-risk loans with your tax dollars when they offer extensions to businesses who don’t pass the first questions on a bank loan. When they default, it is the remaining few left to pay the balance.
Again, a review of the policy is in order.


And here is my reply
January 28, 2011

Linda,

I may be misinterpreting your editorials, but I feel like you have been trying to bait me into a public argument in your paper for the past two months. In an effort to avoid a verbal war with someone who buys his or her ink by the barrel, I have chosen to not reply in public. Instead I visited with you at your office…off the record; and we had an email debate, again…off the record. However, both of those off the record discussions became part of your editorial and this week I can no longer remain silent.

I understand that my position as Mayor means that I am going to be criticized and questioned constantly. I have no problem with that and in fact, I think that public debate is healthy and even necessary to move our community forward. What I do have a problem with is when our local newspaper, the voice of the community, puts a negative spin on every decision that is made at City Hall and when the editor of that paper refuses to let facts and a little respect for privacy get in the way of a good story.

Yes, you did suggest to me that ‘out-of-towners’ be held to a different standard when it comes to paying their utility bills. I thought it was a horrible suggestion at the time and I honestly can’t believe that you printed it for everyone else to read. Maybe we can make that the slogan on the billboard at the edge of town; “Welcome to Monroe City…where out-of-towners are treated differently”. As we continue our discussions with employers looking to locate their businesses in our community, we’ll just have to point out that if they could also relocate some of their dead kinfolk to our local cemetery we can get them a much better deal on their utilities.

You also stated that several local people have complained that they are granted no leniency if they are late in paying their utility bill. I’m not sure who these individuals are, but our current policy…the one you want us to review…states that ALL utility customers can be granted an extension, ALL utility customers can set up a payment plan and ALL utility customers are subject to disconnect if they don’t pay their bill. (On a side note – before we disconnect someone, we send out a City worker to deliver a disconnect notice and give the customer an opportunity to pay prior to being disconnected. And it doesn’t matter who you are or what your last name is or that you just forgot to bring your payment by…it doesn’t matter if its your first time being late or your 50th, if your payment is late, you are going to get a disconnect notice). That’s how policies work…they treat everyone the same way.

In 1964, a middle-aged couple with three teenaged sons moved to Monroe City. They had no ties to the community and were what you would call ‘out-of-towners’. They called Monroe City their home for the remainder of their lives and their grandson grew up to be Mayor. I am thankful that during my grandparents first days in Monroe City they didn’t have to open the local newspaper, read an editorial like the one in last week’s paper and wonder if they had made the right choice.

I have no idea which business, which family, which retired couple, is considering a move to Monroe City right now. Fortunately for them, they don’t have to wait until they’re here to find out what the community is like…the newspaper is available online every week. With that being said, I think it would be beneficial if the local newspaper would recognize the role it plays in not only reporting the news, but also in promoting our community. I’m not suggesting that the paper should sugar coat everything and make Monroe City look like a utopian wonderland. I’m just asking that before you print something…stop and read it again…from an ‘out-of-towners’ point of view. You never know, the parents of the next George Spalding or L.O. Kuhlman or JC Shoemeyer could be considering a move to Monroe City right now.

Sincerely,

Mayor Neal R. Minor