I guess I forgot about these during my budget review, but there is the COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 online at the city web site.
Does anyone recall the history of ‘traffic calming’ discussions and votes, if applicable? Forget about what the ballot said, here is the official recorded bond information:
http://www.munios.com/muni-map.asp?State=Southeast&title=Southeast
I’m disappointed about how the money was spent. I don’t think most people knew how the money was being allocated, because I know for years many people were adamantly against traffic calming (see 2004 meeting notes when they were still discussing it). Although not a lot of people spoke out at meetings, there was a lot of media. Yet, somehow $1.5M was allocated for traffic calming and enhancements out of the $6M bond. During all the discussions during 2000 and until the bond was issued, I’m not aware of a ‘recommendation’ and ‘endorsement’ by residents to change the Marina drive circle. Yet Sample Road, the bone of contention among residents, and likely the impetus for allocating monies is a project that never took off. Were the monies diverted to Marina Drive? Sample Road is not dead. It’s still on the books as something that needs to be addressed.
I predict that by 2009 we will hear requests to issue another bond due to the many projects that remain. Wouldn’t it have been more prudent to allocate more money to bridges and drainage than traffic circles?
Are we at fault for this happening? To a certain extent, yes. If you search hard enough, and look hard enough, you can find expenditures throughout the budget that you won’t agree with. And then you can go speak out at the city commission meetings.
I would prefer that our commissioners took a more active roll in thinking about and questioning how money is being spent. If you have a doubt, why not put it to the people?
Lastly, of the $30,000 bond money appropriated for ‘signage’ to welcome people to LHP, while this is ‘legally’ acceptable under the all too generic terms of our bond entitlements, is it smart spending? I think that if we want to erect a welcome monument to our SMALL town, then we should be able to pay for it out of the general fund, not over 20 years or so. The $30,000 should be re-appropriated to storm drainage, a more critical concern to our daily driving.