Archive for August 12th, 2009

I was quite shocked, as I opened up the Fort Worth 2010 budget, to find the City of Fort Worth is considering closing a number of pools and libraries next year. This is the type of action a responsible city undertakes at times of severe budget crisis. I do not see the upcoming year, with a projected reduction in revenues of about $10,000,000, or about 1%, to be a state of emergency.

The police, as far as I can understand, are getting an increase of 5%. Maybe I don’t understand — undoubtably I don’t understand — but I didn’t think we needed any more police. I saw three today, radaring on the 820 and 35 freeways, and although I escaped without a ticket, probably by virtue of obeying the speed limit I wondered why they were working the radar so hard.

According to an idea of Fort Worth Vision, which I found in the same 2010 budget which proposed closing our public services, the City Council is planning that “By 2020, Fort Worth will be recognized as the most livable city in Texas.” How can that happen with closed  public pools and libraries? Just imagine, the real estate agent is taking a prospective new resident around to look at houses. “Oh, is that a library?”

Yes, but it’s closed.

“Why is that?”

The city council didn’t want to fund it.

“Is the City that broke?”

No, not really, we just don’t think libraries are our highest priority.

My next question, were I that real estate buyer, would be “Can we look at houses in Keller or Arlington?”

What an impression to make.

The new budget actually states that the real cause of the cuts proposed is not a decline in revenue. It’s in order to increase funding for retiree health care and pensions. This is not mandatory crisis spending. Have you noticed that all over people are out of work? Is this really the time to increase retirement spending?

I pay taxes to this City whether I’m rich or poor, whether I have a job or not, and I would appreciate if the few things I count on from the City, the libraries and pools, including Kellis Park Pool, which is in your district, were taken a little more seriously. I certainly don’t mean to sound disrespectful or dismissive of the City’s efforts up to this time. Fort Worth is a first-class city.

But let’s try a little harder to keep it that way than is suggested in the proposed 2010 budget.