Letter to the Editor: A Collective Disregard For the Taxpayer

The city of Lakeville is a conservative town in Minnesota, but you would not know it, as the majority of the City Council is comprised of liberals Matt Little, Kerrin Swecker and Laurie Reib.

Little, a 25-year-old, is a community organizer who ran as a conservative, Swecker is from out “east”, and Reib is another community organizer. These three are the majority in charge of a city of 60,000 people and $90 million in debt.

The city uses a weak mayor system and the three council member majority is on auto pilot running the city into the ground. With the threat of gas prices looming to $10 dollars a gallon, unemployment and foreclosure. This council is having trouble making decisions about how to cut 5-15 percent of a $25 million budget. Further, they claim have tried their best. According to the council's majority and city administrator, the generous city salaries of $13 million per year cannot be touched without losing services to the city, and that it’s not on the table.

The city is also in the municipal liquor business, and maintains a $6 million slush fund to use as it sees fit. So far, they have agreed to cut a pathetic $160,000 which includes removing the free suckers for children from the municipal liquor stores; meanwhile, Councilman Matt Little stated “it’s not so bad in his mind."

As residents get home from work anticipating American Idol, or taking care of their children, it’s easy to see how things may happen right under their nose. The problem is, it’s serious this time, and changes need to be made, as it all begins and ends with the residents of Lakeville. People “want their cake and to eat it too” but sacrifices will come or will be forced by necessity. Holding our city government in check and to high standards is part of every citizen’s responsibility.

I am all for a community center for our seniors, but should this be on the top of the priority list, when 60,000 live in Lakeville, and 1,200 seniors are concerned about more space for their center? This highlights the dysfunctionality, and leadership of the council as well as the directing administration. The bulk of tax money to run the city comes from taxes on business and new construction. Now that this has dried up, where will the money come from? Or is it ok because we can just borrow more money and add it to the existing $90 million dollar debt, hoping the economy picks up?

Marc Bourdeaux, Lakeville