Friday, February 5, 2010

Dawn of a new Day

Every time you pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV, the economy is in a total disaster...like today--another $1.9 trillion to our national debt. It's scary as hell. Yesterday the market took a dive and went under 10000. And all the government wants to do is tax and spend, borrow and give away. You and I now owe $40,000 as our part of the national debt that we did not cause and it's growing like a weed.

And that's exactly what's happening in Lake Worth. Expenses are out of control. Next year Lake Worth will have to tax to the limit by law...10 mils. Where is the forensic audit? We are in this “colossal” financial “mess.” We finally hire a Finance Director who tells us the truth and what happens? He gives notice because his wife doesn’t like Florida. Who in the heck doesn’t like Florida? Come on, Michael. Reconsider. We will treat you nicely. Promise.

If you think about it, why would anyone want to take on this job? Why would even a city manager want to be hired by a City with these monumental problems and some blaming her and the present commission for it? Staff has lied and covered up the messes, shifting money from one line to another to keep us afloat. Our previous city managers never asked the tough questions and never knew our real situation. In fact, we were lucky if they showed up for work. In the past, the City Commission made decisions based on some of the facts—not all.

City Manager, Susan Stanton, has come on board and is just the opposite from what we have had in the past. Demanding the truth and accountability is tough for some to accept. So be it. This is what it takes. If we do not stop spending and stop the waste, it will force us to

1) give up our Charter and go to the County or

2) give up our Charter, file bankruptcy and come back as The City of Lake Worth Beach, hire new people, get a volunteer fire department, renegotiate with the Sheriff or get our own, forget about the unions and start from scratch.

A dawn of a new day might be in order.

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