The sad part about this is that even on a local level, we' re being squeezed by the state and the feds...they are cutting shared revenues and placing Levy and Levy rate limits on us in such a way that we can't even keep up with inflation or escalating costs. We can't afford to hire additional staff to meet public demand AND keep up with replacing vital infrastructure...we're often forced into an "either staff to provide service OR repair the streets" kind of scenario.
I also resent the almost religious devotion to Protective Services (fire and police) demands...if you're an elected official, try, just go ahead and try to deny their demands for more money, more and bigger equipment (using Chevy Tahoes instead of Impalas for police cruisers), bigger buildings ($7+ million fire hall, complete with 50" flat-screen tvs and two Jen-aire ranges). It just doesn't get any easier.They suck up the available levy and debt service and leave not much for general government
Sooooo...
We end up contracting out some services on an "as-needed" basis....backing slowly into privatization
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