The Unions Givith, The Democrats Takith Away

In the Mayor’s guest column printed in the HT on February 21, 2005, our illustrious mayor provided his reasoning for not allowing the Gentry East project sewer extension. His reasoning focused on the assumption that nobody seems to know for sure how much capacity our treatment facilities have to spare and how quickly the land under the city’s domain will be developed. Makes you wonder what all of those people that work for the city do all day doesn’t it? What this really is all about is Mayor Kruzan and the democrat controlled City Council want to dictate all planning and zoning, not just in the city but in the entire county. Since this project is outside the city’s planning jurisdiction the mayor has decided that he doesn’t like it, and thus, he has the power to deny it a sewer extension.

Kruzan was quoted as saying “Since becoming mayor, no developer has sought a sewer extension outside the planning jurisdiction on the basis of jobs that would be created or the income that would be imported into the community”. In one fell swoop Mayor Kruzan has cast aside everyone that is involved in development in our community as though they were a pair of old shoes. I wonder; does he not realize that the property development is a big segment of our local economy and it is a source of employment for several hundred people within our community. The last expansion to the Dillman Road treatment facility was based on the concept that future needs could be met. Growth in our community is inevitable and with it, we will need additional sewer treatment facilities, additional schools, roads and larger hospitals. No matter how much our local elected officials try, they can’t stop growth and honestly why would they try? Growth fuels the union and non-union construction segment of our local economy and quite frankly that equates to jobs. With healthy growth, supply and demand are kept in balance which also helps to keep the cost of living check. Growth and new development also correlate to an increase in the tax base which helps pay for needed infrastructure improvements.

In the recently released election finance report local unions came to the aid of several democrat candidates. For some reason unions continue to provide financial support for local democrats, all the while their jobs are being eliminated by the very individuals they seek to elect. Instead of these no growth “green” democrats we need people with vision, planners with rational forward thinking skills that can anticipate and prepare us for the future, without them; this segment of our local economy will have no one to blame for its decline, but itself.