What Part of "of the People" Don't They Get?
In Indianapolis, there has been a long-standing problem of sewer reconstruction. The city has existed for most of its history with an older-style combined system, wherein waste sewage and rainwater go through the same pipes. Sounds delightfully Roman, doesn't it? For as long as I can remember, and back two Mayoral administrations, Indianapolis has been trying to decide what to do about that problem. Given the obvious massive costs involved, the last two Republican mayors shied away from it.
Of course, now that we have a tax-and-spend Democratic Mayor and Republican Governor combo, the sewer issue has finally come to a head, as it were. The proposed costs are, not surprisingly, enormous. With the costs being decided by a bureaucracy, there's no telling how much of it will be waste and how much will actually go to an efficient overhaul of the sewers (did I just use the word efficient to describe government?).
The trick is, of course, to have a lot of public input and scrutiny on a project that's already looking to cost upwards of half a billion dollars. I'd remind you that Indianapolis is also sitting on a lake of bonds the last Mayor floated to get his pet projects through in the 90's. Naturally, the local media is cheering the Mayor's proposal of doubling the sewer bill for everyone. This may not seem like much, but for businesses that use a lot of water, it's going to be devastating and likely result in higher costs and prices throughout the city.
With all this in mind, I can't stress enough how important it is for the citizenry of Indianapolis to have a say in this (as I wouldn't be surprised if the Mayor didn't try to go after the rest of the metro area to help him pay for it like he did the new Dome). This is why this article in the Indianapolis Star today is then all the more pathetic.
State and local government agencies in Indiana wrongly withheld records or blocked access to meetings in more than half the cases investigated by the public access ombudsman in the last year.
The Office of Public Access Counselor issued a record number of opinions last year as more Hoosiers, increasingly aware of their rights to government information under the law, filed formal complaints with the agency.
What are the odds this is an isolated phenomenon? Is there a possibility that we're just looking at a few misguided bureaucrats or selfish politicians? Likely not. This article, a rare one for the Star, I think exposes an endemic corruption in the state and local political scene, that once again they know better than you what records are kept and how they keep them.
These are the public's business, the people's business, and in a time when our State went through a major political change but still suffers from the same political machine, it's time we take note and again rededicate ourselves to HOLDING OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE.
Whether it's a stadium, a sewer, or a cesspool, those in power are going to find anyway possible to stick it to us to fund their pet projects. Our job as citizenry, and I've stated before I know it isn't easy, is to stuff it back down their throats and say "NOT ONE DAMN DIME MORE". Make them beg. Make them explain, make them massage and cajole the citizenry til they risk violating sexual harrassment laws. They must be held to a higher standard, and we are the ones that must do the holding.
In Indianapolis, there has been a long-standing problem of sewer reconstruction. The city has existed for most of its history with an older-style combined system, wherein waste sewage and rainwater go through the same pipes. Sounds delightfully Roman, doesn't it? For as long as I can remember, and back two Mayoral administrations, Indianapolis has been trying to decide what to do about that problem. Given the obvious massive costs involved, the last two Republican mayors shied away from it.
Of course, now that we have a tax-and-spend Democratic Mayor and Republican Governor combo, the sewer issue has finally come to a head, as it were. The proposed costs are, not surprisingly, enormous. With the costs being decided by a bureaucracy, there's no telling how much of it will be waste and how much will actually go to an efficient overhaul of the sewers (did I just use the word efficient to describe government?).
The trick is, of course, to have a lot of public input and scrutiny on a project that's already looking to cost upwards of half a billion dollars. I'd remind you that Indianapolis is also sitting on a lake of bonds the last Mayor floated to get his pet projects through in the 90's. Naturally, the local media is cheering the Mayor's proposal of doubling the sewer bill for everyone. This may not seem like much, but for businesses that use a lot of water, it's going to be devastating and likely result in higher costs and prices throughout the city.
With all this in mind, I can't stress enough how important it is for the citizenry of Indianapolis to have a say in this (as I wouldn't be surprised if the Mayor didn't try to go after the rest of the metro area to help him pay for it like he did the new Dome). This is why this article in the Indianapolis Star today is then all the more pathetic.
State and local government agencies in Indiana wrongly withheld records or blocked access to meetings in more than half the cases investigated by the public access ombudsman in the last year.
The Office of Public Access Counselor issued a record number of opinions last year as more Hoosiers, increasingly aware of their rights to government information under the law, filed formal complaints with the agency.
What are the odds this is an isolated phenomenon? Is there a possibility that we're just looking at a few misguided bureaucrats or selfish politicians? Likely not. This article, a rare one for the Star, I think exposes an endemic corruption in the state and local political scene, that once again they know better than you what records are kept and how they keep them.
These are the public's business, the people's business, and in a time when our State went through a major political change but still suffers from the same political machine, it's time we take note and again rededicate ourselves to HOLDING OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE.
Whether it's a stadium, a sewer, or a cesspool, those in power are going to find anyway possible to stick it to us to fund their pet projects. Our job as citizenry, and I've stated before I know it isn't easy, is to stuff it back down their throats and say "NOT ONE DAMN DIME MORE". Make them beg. Make them explain, make them massage and cajole the citizenry til they risk violating sexual harrassment laws. They must be held to a higher standard, and we are the ones that must do the holding.
posted by Rob Beck | 7:19 AM
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