Million-dollar screw-up?
Million-dollar screw-up?
Good morning. Let us try and resume informing you of a few of the events and issues on our local front. Wish we could do more, but this is a hobby or spare-time exercise. And recently, personal family
Good morning. Let us try and resume informing you of a few of the events and issues on our local front. Wish we could do more, but this is a hobby or spare-time exercise. And recently, personal family concerns far away - a dear aunt is dying - have rightly become more important. I thank my friend Tip Johnson, an active citizen, former two-time City Council member and fellow political junkie for filling in while I was gone.
This morning's Herald editorial is very good and on target. It holds the city and county responsible for the illegal water hookups by Water District 7 to new homes in the Lake Whatcom watershed. They should have been tracking this. I would add there is the real possibility that city Public Works did know - and is just not admitting it. I've not read where they have been asked directly.
Seems the Herald missed an expensive half-million-dollar screw-up by the city - one that the council partly fixed last evening. The Herald reporter left early and missed it. Actually, this appears to be closer to a million-dollar screw up by city planning department that the mayor's office has known about for some time. Last night the council put a band aid on it by voting for $423,000 plus to plug the gap. Of course the agenda item mis-worded the action to make it sound like a positive step - transferring money to the General Fund. Actually, the shortfall may be closer to $800,000 - but the council is trying to tip-toe into this without anyone noticing. We have now noticed.
Actually it is worse. The Planning Department has grossly exceeded its budget for - apparently - several years and the council has either turned a blind eye or was not paying attention to what was happening. Take your choice. We should wonder where else in our city budget this is happening. This is the sort of thing politicians like to keep hidden until after the coming election.
This morning's Herald editorial is very good and on target. It holds the city and county responsible for the illegal water hookups by Water District 7 to new homes in the Lake Whatcom watershed. They should have been tracking this. I would add there is the real possibility that city Public Works did know - and is just not admitting it. I've not read where they have been asked directly.
Seems the Herald missed an expensive half-million-dollar screw-up by the city - one that the council partly fixed last evening. The Herald reporter left early and missed it. Actually, this appears to be closer to a million-dollar screw up by city planning department that the mayor's office has known about for some time. Last night the council put a band aid on it by voting for $423,000 plus to plug the gap. Of course the agenda item mis-worded the action to make it sound like a positive step - transferring money to the General Fund. Actually, the shortfall may be closer to $800,000 - but the council is trying to tip-toe into this without anyone noticing. We have now noticed.
Actually it is worse. The Planning Department has grossly exceeded its budget for - apparently - several years and the council has either turned a blind eye or was not paying attention to what was happening. Take your choice. We should wonder where else in our city budget this is happening. This is the sort of thing politicians like to keep hidden until after the coming election.
