Traverse City Schools, seeking funding for a $105,000,000.00 bond got what they wanted.. It doesn’t matter that out of the 17,458 votes cast, 40% of them did not want to pay any more for “additional land purchases, new buildings..” etc..
“For the Kids!” was the mantra used as is always done to support increasingly inefficient and non-innovating school bureaucracies. The sad fact is that the school enrollment is actually down, and they need additional buildings? Perhaps they should sell a few of the ones they own?
I had mixed feelings. I can afford the $400 a year the millage will cost. I have also contributed more than that to the special programs within the schools that I supported. However, I disagree with the way finances have been managed in the past, and see little to indicate a trend towards responsibility by current school officials. Further, it is just plain WRONG to use force to confiscate the property of others because of your grand or idealistic intentions. The use of democracy to steal from your neighbor will never be a righteous act.
The Bay Area Transportation Authority.. Who the hell are you accountable to? You select the most expensive desirable locations in town and use government to squash would be competition in the private sector. It is TRULY AMAZING that you are still in business. I believe in public transportation, but yours is not something that is worthy of support with any size millage add on. You will cost me $45 or so a year, but frankly I feel you should be paying US to be on the roads with your poor drivers, stinky busses, and hard to decipher scheduling. More money for that?
It is this author’s intent to investigate BATA, its budget, and report when I can here. Count on it.