I'm going to venture out, away from real estate in this blog and share some recent decisions that had to be made that impacts the lives of people in our community. Being on the Harper City Council is a big responsibility. It would be easier to make my decisions and find fault in other decisions from my arm chair, second guessing and not having the facts.
Having the facts is a burden. We have been in a situation for years as a council, knowing that someday we will have to take definite action on providing safe, clean, healthy drinking water to our community. Our drinking water has been threatened by nitrates. It is being monitored so we know where we stand. Years ago, council decided they did not want to raise the water rates in our area and put a hardship on the people. But most recent findings, showing the nitrates were not getting better and our wells are not hanging in there for the long term, brought about a tough decision.
It was found out that to qualify for grant money (free) we would have to show that we were first helping ourselves by keeping our water use rates up to what is determine normal. We were below normal, which threatened getting a grant. Having the opportunity for a grant, relieves the financial burden so of course we want to go for a grant. But have to raise the water rates. This week, we voted to raise the water rates by $10 for every household. No council member wanted to do this, but as I say, the facts are a burden, so we had to make the decision. Keep in mind this decision also impacts each of us, some more than others as some have businesses.
Many would find a $10 increase on their monthly bill to be a BIG additional charge to be burdened with. Others will see that $10 a month is acceptable to insure that their family has safe, clean, drinking water. This is how I see it. It is an investment in a much needed commodity. I remember a while back that Mulvane, Ks I think it was, gets their water from ElDorado and there was some kind of blockage in the system so Mulvane resident's water supply was threatened. I would hate to see our community faced with that threat.
Tough decisions come with business. It would be great if we could all put on our superman capes and stand against injustice and rising water rates. But we can't, we have to make the tough decisions and be unpopular. I am thankful for some of the council members we have that choose to face the facts rather than ignore them and try to make themselves look better to the public. Many difficult decisions are made more difficult because of those that refuse to see the big picture and focus only on how they will appear.
We also have a new relocated library because of the council members who wanted good things for our community. If you want to know who on your city council is actually wanting our city to grow and provide for our community, you can check the minutes of past meetings. You will see consistent opposition by the same people. It will open your eyes. It reminds me of a saying, "Your talk talks, and your walk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks."
Just sayin.
Mary