More Port Angeles Budget Cuts
It looks like William Shore Memorial Pool isn't the only item on the chopping block.
The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center will lose $27,500. The Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center will lose $22,500. United Way of Clallam County will lose $62,500 and the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society will lose $26,500.
These are the cuts recommended by the Port Angeles City Council. The final decision will be made on December 2nd. And the four above-mentioned organizations might lose all the rest of their city funding in the 2010 budget.
Also, maintenance for small neighborhood parks will be reduced by $25,000. Funding for economic development will be reduced by $60,000. And there will be $186,000 worth of “unspecified” reductions.
Times are tough. But at least we've got a $14 million bus stop in the middle of town, and a “free” bubble building whose maintenance we will be financing, year after year.
Priorities.
The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center will lose $27,500. The Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center will lose $22,500. United Way of Clallam County will lose $62,500 and the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society will lose $26,500.
These are the cuts recommended by the Port Angeles City Council. The final decision will be made on December 2nd. And the four above-mentioned organizations might lose all the rest of their city funding in the 2010 budget.
Also, maintenance for small neighborhood parks will be reduced by $25,000. Funding for economic development will be reduced by $60,000. And there will be $186,000 worth of “unspecified” reductions.
Times are tough. But at least we've got a $14 million bus stop in the middle of town, and a “free” bubble building whose maintenance we will be financing, year after year.
Priorities.
Labels: Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center, Olympic Peninsula Humane Society, Port Angeles economic development reduced funds, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, United Way of Clallam County
posted by Tom Harper at 5:24 PM
18 Comments:
Hurray! Spending cuts are always nice. Now is the time for people to really show how much they care about these project by putting their money where their mouth is.
Also , hopefully they will stop fluoridating the water too. No reason to keep taking taxpayer money and being a drain on the system.
Don't forget those fancy new sidewalks too.
My money has always been where my mouth is. Unfortunately, I don't have a tree in my backyard where I go and pick more money. I'm like everybody else, paying inflated taxes on property that's worth less, worried about my retirement money that's dwindling, and stuck with the same high gas and food bills as everybody else. I really don't have much more to give.
Any suggestions?
Balancing the budget is simple! We just need to do what the federal government did...
• slash taxes to encourage growth
• bloat the government like crazy
• slash infrastructure expenditures
• declare war on Sappho
And the budget will be balanced in 2012! Huzzah! Maybe!
Seriously, though, it's time we stopped spending more than we have. These cut would suck, I'd hate to lose the pool, but something has got to give sooner or later. Of course, I'd rather we stop paying Madsen any fees, and trim out the fat in government, but that's probably not an option.
Is the proposed budget posted anywhere? I ran a Google search and found some PowerPoint presentations in PDF form (worth a look through, btw), but I can't find the actual budget. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place. Or maybe it's time for transparency in government. Or maybe a little of both.
BTW, when I ran a Google search on "city of port angeles budget" this page was the fifth one on the list. The four before it were the city finance page, the 2005 city finance page, another old city finance page, and a Daily News article.
No offense to this blog, but it seems like there should be a lot more pertinent links out above it. Small town priorities I guess.
Get completely rid of the "Fine Arts" Center and give their money to the Humane Society...I don't see any real art up there anyway.
We have some prime waterfront to sell to the highest bidder where the graving yard was supposed to be. It is the taxpayers' land, not the Lower Elwha's!
Why did the city spend $40,000 on those eleven hideous "statues" on Laurel Street?
The city budget is not yet available for viewing. I imagine it will be posted on their Web site, but likely the first place it will show up is the Nov. 4 public hearing.
our economy is in such a delicate position right now..
The "CITY" didn't GIVE any money for the art on Laurel Street. It was head and bed tax paid by all the tourist that stayed the night in a motel/hotel/B&B. That tax goes into a fund and then distributed by a committee of citizens....not city personel. It has to go for improvements that benifit tourism. The art that is happening downtown is a partial result of that fund. Some of it also comes from individual donations from us citizens.
Read the paper....it explains how the fund works....or ask the city...they will tell you.
As for the hideous statues on Laurel.....beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There are many people that love them.....I know the artists that did the project, and they are very sincere people. They did it for everyones enjoyment.....too bad you can't enjoy them yourself. Oh-well, maybe someday. ...or not.
I haven't found ANYONE who thinks those pieces of so-called "art" are beautiful. What are they supposed to be???
We need to find a way to get them removed. What a joke they are....
But the biggest joke is how we let the tribe confiscate prime waterfront property that belongs to all of us...land that could be put to good use to benefit the community. I rode my bike by there the other day...mounds of dirt with weeds growing out of it, with decomposing plastic...what is up with THAT?????
Grrrrr.
Those statues are indeed UGLY, and they're a bit of a hazard for anyone with any vision disabilities and for small children (the bases can trip a small one). But, the city doesn't seem to have any safety standards, and...while ART is all jim dandy, they're cracking down on the sidewalk signs that businesses use to be noticed. So, on one hand, no sidewalk obstruction, on the other...rusty art to trip over.
They problem with the "people" art is they're headless and fat...and a bit disturbing. But, then again, perhaps they mimic the basic populace of the area....brainless and FAT.
To Anonymous who posted at 12:37 -- you absolutely epitomize the word "brainless." Why don't you close your mouth and open your mind a little???
This town is full of people, just the same kind of people that are in every town. Some of us are fat, some are smarter than others, but we're all good. We all belong here.
If you are too elitist for Port Angeles, then LEAVE.
Elitists ... in Port Angeles? Perish the thought!
Brainless ... good call!
My understanding is that it takes one employee to run the fluoridation station. Shutting that down would free up some money. It is wrong the City crammed it down our throats to begin with.
anony 6:48 pm....first I doubt you even know what "elitist" means (for your edification: a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities, intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes)
Duh, obviously NOT, I live in Port Angeles.
Now, as for you being amongst the FAT...that is obvious. This is one of the fattest towns I've ever seen....and not in a good, slang sense of the word kind of way, either. Chubby, tubby, and rotund should be our town mascots.
it appears to me that you protest too much...(want me to quote Shakespeare exactly?)
hey, we have a town archaeologist on the payroll, and a public information officer, and a lot of other porksucking political extras (including the fluoridation, but the city probably gets a kickback on that one)
Madsen is now getting $225 an hour to tell us that he's a moron. GREAT. Nice he quit in a hissy fit to come back and gouge the city. And after that little pussy display out outrage why are we shoving the bucks his way?
Who says this town isn't corrupt?
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