I had concerns regarding the environmental fee imposed by the Town Council, so I attended an information session held by town staff.

I must say they were well prepared and remained professional and pleasant in the face of a dozen or so unhappy residents, most of whom were willing to pay the fee but were unhappy about issues with the apparent bias resulting from of use of “parcels” to set fees.

It was explained why neither property values nor lot size could be used as well as why the fees are needed and why an out-of-state firm was chosen for billing.

The nature of the immediate need for funds is clearly the result of state and federal mandates for which the existing budget simply does not have the funds. There are remaining issues: it may not totally cover the expense and recourse in the event of nonpayment is questionable. Litigation is also an ugly and costly potential that none of us would like to see.

It became clear that we are well past the point where cutting expenses can accommodate the town’s needs, particularly if you consider that these environmental expenses are merely the tip of the iceberg.

Costs for police and fire protection are not nailed down and there is no guarantee that Rural Metro or the Sheriff’s Office can or will continue to provide service at a rate the town can afford.

Town staff has performed miraculously to date, but there is literally nothing else left to cut other than to eliminate services.

In my opinion, one of the reasons we have difficulty attracting new business to the area is due partially to the fact the bare bones offering of services and difficulty in maintaining our town’s infrastructure encourages them to look elsewhere.

To be continued....