I'm not going to go on and on about the outrageous spending habits of the City of Centerville. Anybody can go on line and dig up facts and figures that would turn your face blue. I would like to address the attitude of those who respond about all the things that have happened with a previous Mayor and a previous Council. I do know Tom Wilharber, personally. I did vote for Tom and do not regret it for a moment.
Is the view pretty good from the cheap seats?
Donna King went on and on about "their current financial situation" and Steve having to quit a third job. She states "It can be dangerous to a community when only people with self interest or comfortable financial means are in charge of your future". I'm sorry Donna, aren't you in charge of your own financial future? Maybe that's part of the problem as well. If our Mayor is in a comfortable position, he may have planned better than the rest of us. He has served his country, his family and his community the whole time. Like most people do when they retire; they travel, they spend time with friends and family. Tom Whilharber chose to support and lead his community. He has spent his days meeting every business owner in town since taking the office. He visits residents on a regular basis. Tom is not about the popular vote, Tom won't support something if it's not right for Centerville. It may be right for you, for today, but that's how we got into these dire financial situations.
Where were all of you when the reckless spending was going on? At council meetings voicing your opinion? Possibly writing or talking to your City Government, with the concerns for your future? Now, because it's affecting you personally, you want to be an armchair quarterback.
The $5,500 Fete de Lacs money is not just for a day long party. It is a chance for residents such as yourself, to get out of your house and possibly meet your community. Children love the parade, it's a small price to pay for them. I don't see many people signing up to help with that? Possibly helping to make the community better would do everyone some good.
I am married to a Centerville Lion and we work very hard with things like Fete de Lacs to raise money. In case you are unaware, this money goes back to the community of Centerville. We give countless gift baskets at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. These baskets go to the families who seem to be struggling and need a little help. We collect food for the food shelves, and do every bit of the labor. The one and only Easter Egg Hunt that is free to everyone, every year, is 100% sponsored by the Lions for residents. Lion's events such as Fete, Ice Fishing Contests and Haunted Houses, bring people from all over the state to our little town. Which in turn brings business. Tom Wilharber is also a Centerville Lion!
Maybe it's time everyone stood up, talked to the Council about fixing the problems, not just repeating them. Let your Mayor know in a civilized manner what your visions are. Ask how you can help; get involved to make the future better than what we have had to deal with in the past.
Nancy Johnson
Centerville
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7 comments:
Yes the Lions do wonderful things for our community. I just wonder what happened to the Fete de Lacs vendors? There was a time when we had carnival rides, cheese curds, cotton candy etc in the park. By bringing in separate vendors the city could raise money per booth charge to off set the cost. Not to mention it would be fun again! I have a friend that would be willing to pay a booth fee to do face painting for the children and sell balloons.
There are many ways of raising funds for our annual party. It just seems like the Lions have total control over the concessions now and Fete de Lacs is not as fun as it once was.
Someone please correct me if I'm off base here.
Yep! Fete de Lacs totally blows compared to what I remember it being when I was a kid. I remember getting my parents sick on the tilt a whirl. What did happen to the carnival rides and the rock climbing wall? Julie is right. It's no fun anymore and the parade is full of politicians and beauty queens from other cities. Why not have a Miss Centerville? There's a thought! There are a lot of hot chicks here in town. Always have been.
Julie and Alex - You are both correct. The Festival use to be a lot more fun. Originally, the City put on the Festival and the Lions helped. They had problems with participation and funding. The Lion's Club then took over the event. The City then would budget money to help the Lions. Their funding went towards anything that was free to the residents ie. restrooms, trash, blow ups for the kids.
With budget cuts, the funding had to be cut as well. The City has always paid for the parade and the fireworks. Marching Bands and organizations charge to be in the parade. It adds up fast.
Now, the Lion's have the summer event. The Lions do this with money raised through fund raisers, and concession sales. The Lions currently only have 22 members and the help of volunteers, to make it all happen.
I will certainly pass on your comments to the Lion's Club. They are currently working on a Facebook page.
Thanks for commenting.
"Where were all of you when the reckless spending was going on? At council meetings voicing your opinion? Possibly writing or talking to your City Government, with the concerns for your future? Now, because it's affecting you personally, you want to be an armchair quarterback."
There were many residents walking the State Audit Petition in which our last finance director abruptly retired. The one that was working for several other cities while Centerville paid his full time salary plus benefits. The same one that Capra said she had no problem with his outside activities. Previous council ignored the fact that other cities fired John Meyers after the facts came out. Yep, this from the lazy armchair quarterbacks? Wow!
The members of this blog have done plenty to warn the citizens before it affected us personally.
Your criticism seems quite unfair considering this blog has been around since July 2008 and the bloggers have done plenty to affect change in our community.
Anonymous - I certainly didn't say everyone was quiet during those changes. As a resident, I am glad to know you were not. My criticism is to show the lack of community and the want for more involvement. It's easy to just complain.
Although the blog has been in place since 2008, it doesn't mean everyone comments on everything. I did not blog, I was involved on the front end of it all. I spoke about it instead of writing.
I did not mean to offend anyone who is looking for a better Centerville and willing to help.
The reason the rides went away was cost. People from town didn't support the carnival, therefore the carnival didn't want to come. To have the rides, be it a carnival or blow-ups, it costs thousands of dollars. The support received from the community didn't cover that.
The volunteer hours needed to put on the City Festival are enormous. Those of us that do volunteer basically give up four days of our lives during the festival, not including all the time spent planning, and we DO NOT get paid. Of the 22 members of the Centerville Lions, 10 - 12 at the most are active in all of the fundraising and free events. Like Nancy said, the Lion's DO donate money to those in need, be it locally, nationally, or internationally.
I would love to see a City Celebration that includes all age groups, but, sadly, with the costs involved and the lack of volunteers, the City Festival had to be scaled back.
Nancy,
You said it yourself that
the city is in a dire financial situation and this reckless spending is enough to turn your face blue. I was merely challenging the Mayor on his promise to cut spending.
You refer to the citizens as armchair complainers. Do you not remember the people that brought us the state audit, over 600 signatures on the petition,
the results of the November election, or recent articles encouraging spending cuts? How much more clear can our visions be?
I was not criticizing the good works of the Lion's Club, Mayor or anyone else that volunteers. I was criticizing the $5,500 to fund Fete de Lacs. Is this not additional spending? You even said it doesn't draw the people or volunteers anymore. Many people may benefit but this should be through private donations not on the backs of the taxpayers. Taxpayer money should be spent on maintaining the city not unnecessary spending. If our taxes were not so high, maybe less people would not need the assistance of the Lion's Club. Where do we draw the line?
I mentioned Steve's 3rd job only to make a point since it was discussed at council meetings in regard to pay reuction. Certainly
not for sympathy! Yes, we did make somewhat of a personal financial sacrifice but it was well worth it for the citizens. My point is I thought this was the Mayor's first step towards goodwill on reduced spending. Instead, he continues to favor laptops and vote for Fete de Lacs. Is this not additional spending?
Also, just a reminder my husband
also served his country and is now serving his community.
I was not criticizing the Mayor or anyone else that financially plan well for their future. However, no matter how well you plan, unexpected events in life can quickly drain the nest egg. It seems to be human nature that when our lives are fine we think most other people's lives are also fine. We all spend our OWN money according to our needs and wants. Therefore, an elected official especially needs to be vigilant that this is other people's money. Everytime they vote for unnecessary spending, it takes tax dollars away from payment towards the City's unexpected expenses and adds a burden to the citizens. This type of voting indicates to me their disrespect for the citizen's hard-earned tax dollar. Isn't the cost of our property taxes enough proof? What happens to those people that are hit with an unexpected event in their life that they have no control over? Do they go without medicine or basic needs for their children because they have to pay the property taxes? Or, is it okay to watch our neighbors struggle because it is bad manners to remind our elected officials to make an effort to keep THEIR campaign promises?
The Mayor is fortunate to have such a good friend, however, I wouldn't even defend my own husband if he didn't make a conscientious effort to try and keep his campaign promises. The Mayor chose to run, fully aware what it entailed, and made promises to cut spending. It's time for him to start proposing or making those tough decisions.
If I still have not made myself clear, you are welcome to come over anytime and discuss this further. I live at 1724 Sorel. You can't miss the house it has a handicap ramp in front. If you do come over, give me a few minutes to get out of my armchair to come to the door.
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