August 16, 2011
Tuesday

Chas Edwardson is right about our debt load; it's too high. We as a community need to keep in mind what we are doing as a whole; spending and borrowing at an alarming rate. We are losing population and yet we are building a fire station that is the same size as Fairbanks, Alaska, a city with 5 times the population as Ketchikan. We are putting a $700,000 piling and grade beam foundation under the new library because the site is not suitable for a conventional concrete footing foundation as planned. We are building a pool that is slated to cost 23 million dollars. All the while the City is contending because of our spending spree they want to increase our taxes to cover the cost of our debt load. We are facing increases in our water and electrical rates to boot.

Keep in mind we are building and borrowing for all these items while the streets are in horrible condition, our water and power lines need millions in repair and maintenance, and we have bridges and wooden streets that are falling down and that's the top of a long list of deferred maintenance items. Don't forget the Federal government is going to cut trillions from their budget and the City, Borough, State and the tribes will feel the pain. The support we have all enjoyed for generations from the feds will dwindle. We need some creative approaches to the same problems, like how to do more with less rather than just asking us for more.

Let's hold the line on the size and cost of government. Don't increase our taxes and user fees. Preserve the jobs we have now and make do with what we have until this economy gets better.

Samuel Bergeron
samuelbergeron[at]gci.net
Ketchikan, AK