Annapolis Capital Punishment

CP continues to get comments about the sidewalk tax issue. Refer to the post of August 1 and the various comments received: http://annapoliscapitalpunishment.blogspot.com/2008/08/who-should-pay-for-sidewalks.html

This morning CP spoke with an Eastport resident who jokingly called me a "trouble maker" because I had jokingly suggested that Mayor Moyer send one of her Celebrate 300 medallion paperweights to each tax payer who sent in their $25 payment in lieu of a refund. This Eastporter was concerned that city officials would not realize it was satirical and might take me seriously. Hmmm....

Here is another comment CP just received from JLP:

"Hi Paul

As you know, I don't generally like to leave comments, but Stanford's [note--see Aug 1 comments] response brings up my biggest problem with this whole issue. Regardless of how you feel about this fee, there is no denying on any side that this fee was passed at City Council, with a public hearing and the opportunity to speak out on it. The fact that some feel this issue wasn't broadcast loudly enough by the paper or by bloggers or by the mayor herself doesn't really matter. If you're not going to be an active member of the citizenry, keep an eye on what is happening at City Council meetings, and stand up and speak out when an issue comes up that you feel strongly about (at that time, not 8 months later), then your right to complain is greatly diminished. Well, you can complain as much as you want, but it doesn't mean that much. If you consciously choose to bury your head in the sand until after a law has been passed, then the fact that you don't approve of the law is, in many respects, too bad. had the city done this under cover, without public hearing, I could better empathize, but as it is, it just sounds like a lot of whining after the fact. Especially from people publicly quoted in the paper as saying that they shouldn't have to pay because there aren't sidewalks in their neighborhood. The city publishes the agenda for each and every city council meeting. It takes mere second/minutes to glance at it and see if there is anything worth speaking up about - probably less than an hour over the course of a year. If you care about your city and your government and your future, it's an hour well-spent. It's irresponsible not to."

and CP's response...

Dear JLP:

Thanks for your note--please write more often. In general I am, as you know, most sympathetic to your main point and am constantly disappointed by people who say they don't care or don't know and don't want to care or know about what they sneeringly and ignorantly refer to as "politics." This is why CP is here--to encourage interest and involvement in our local issues. But hey--a whole $25! That's an entirely different matter and hit a sore nerve. While many have admitted that in terms of dollars alone, a "fee" or a "tax" of $25 per household is darn reasonable and even a bargain compared to the actual cost to a homeowner for repairs, that was not the big problem.

I think that hardly anybody respects or trusts our local government to do the right thing, act responsibly or act in the interest of we the people. Therefore, the entire thing is looked upon as a debacle, and one that is apparently an illegal act--and how this got by city council and the city attorney is plain old baffling--and troubling. Additionally, this administration has managed to flub so many other basic things such as The Market House and the Annapolis Police Station that people downright doubted whether it could properly handle and actually undertake sidewalk repairs with this new source of moola.

BUT.....We have special taxes as revenue sources for roads, and most of us completely and willingly accept and pay them, so why not for sidewalks? Why is there discussion about the private responsibility of sidewalks when they are so clearly a public utility?

In summation--yep-we all should be involved and knowledgeable, and it's our own damn fault if we slowly get boiled in oil, but how can a city council meeting compete with American Idol or Oprah for our attention?

I suppose we get the government we deserve. It is up to us to demand better.


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