Sometime circa 2014 when Mike Henry was Mayor and Pat Kearney was on Council, a Sidewalk Committee was established. Jim Conlin and I served on it. Off and on for several years there had been complaints about an inequitable sidewalk policy: some people being allowed to remove theirs, others not, the costs, etc.
In 2016, the last year of the Committee’s existence, $50,000 was allocated in the budget for sidewalks. The committee prioritized places with lots of foot traffic—churches, parks, businesses--and set about repairing them.
After Mayor Staner was elected, I went to council several times and asked when the next Sidewalk Committee was scheduled, but got no answer. At the first council meeting in November 2016 an ordinance passed that forces the expense of sidewalks back on homeowners. Most of it in less highly-valued properties in the older, center of the city.
I believe this ordinance is illegal (but you’d have to go to court to find out) because you can’t treat one group of citizens one way, and another group another way. If the city can’t give senior citizens a preferential garbage rate, then it can’t force the expense of sidewalks on group either.
I complained loudly but the ordinance and this another reason why I am saying there is a moral dimension to this vote.
No comments:
Post a Comment