posted by Mike Madison at 9:09 AM /
I haven't had time to read the proposed 2009 Mt. Lebanon budget, but voices of concern and opposition make it clear that the municipality proposes not to pay for or to cut a number of programs that the community has come to expect and value.
The question isn't only whether those programs will continue to be supported.
The question is also who will support them and how.
By supporting these programs through the budget, the message is that all of the taxpayers of Mt. Lebanon will bear some of the cost. If you want this money to go back into the budget, then at least one of two things will have to happen: Either some programs that you don't favor will get cut to pay for the ones that you do, or your taxes will go up. Everyone's taxes will go up.
By not supporting these programs through the budget, the message is that those who promote, produce, and value the programs need to find resources themselves, by fundraising, grants, volunteer labor, and other sources. You get what you pay for, in other words, with an emphasis on the "you." Customers, consumers, and other Mt. Lebanon residents will have to open their wallets and find time in their schedules to make direct contributions, rather than passively investing via their tax payments. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Will this work? I don't know. I have no opinion to share regarding any specific program or budget cut. But the money has to come from somewhere. One way to see the choice is between money that comes involuntarily from all of us, and money that comes voluntary from a few of us. As the commercial says, "What's in your wallet?"
The question isn't only whether those programs will continue to be supported.
The question is also who will support them and how.
By supporting these programs through the budget, the message is that all of the taxpayers of Mt. Lebanon will bear some of the cost. If you want this money to go back into the budget, then at least one of two things will have to happen: Either some programs that you don't favor will get cut to pay for the ones that you do, or your taxes will go up. Everyone's taxes will go up.
By not supporting these programs through the budget, the message is that those who promote, produce, and value the programs need to find resources themselves, by fundraising, grants, volunteer labor, and other sources. You get what you pay for, in other words, with an emphasis on the "you." Customers, consumers, and other Mt. Lebanon residents will have to open their wallets and find time in their schedules to make direct contributions, rather than passively investing via their tax payments. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Will this work? I don't know. I have no opinion to share regarding any specific program or budget cut. But the money has to come from somewhere. One way to see the choice is between money that comes involuntarily from all of us, and money that comes voluntary from a few of us. As the commercial says, "What's in your wallet?"
Labels: budget
1 Comments:
Here is my comment from an earlier post on the budget:
How can we maintain our competitive advantage of having a "strong sense of community" when we are cutting funding for some of the core community activities? If we're going to make cuts let's not make cuts to the things that make Mt Lebanon Mt Lebanon.
We moved here because Mt Lebanon was different than all the other suburban communities...but by eliminating funding and jeopardizing the future of what many consider to be core community activities and events I think Mt Lebanon is at risk of losing its key differentiator which is that feeling of community, that character which makes the town more than just a place. It is something that you cannot place a dollar amount upon in terms of what it brings to the town but it seems like at least some members of the commision don't get that.
So what can we do about it? With costs rising everywhere we should prepare for cuts being proposed in future budgets for a while now. If cuts are going to be made in order to hold the line we, as involved citizens, need to collectively become a strong voice to the commishioners so that they know we are willing to make sacrifices in one area in order to keep funding for some of our important programs and events. One such sacrifice that I know the town spends a lot of money on is this leaf pickup service. I've never seen another town that allows its residents to dump their leaves on the sides of the street. We have always raked the leaves, bagged them, put some in the compost pile, and then disposed of the rest. This service, in my opinion, is not a necessity, it is a luxury, and I would put money on it that the leaf pickup costs more than the combined funding of many of those community programs and events.
I don't think it is unreasonable to ask Mt Leabnites to change and take it upon themselves instead of the municipality using what I would consider costly labor and fuel to collect the leaves all over town. I'm sure if they cut this service people with b*** and moan just like some of us are doing now but if it comes down to funding community events or leaf pickup I'll take the events.
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