William G. Faust Jr. is a resident of Dover.
Over the past several months, the taxpayers of the city of Dover have seen the following: 1.) A monthly emergency medical services fee added to our city of Dover bill; 2.) An increase in our electric fee to avoid a possible tax increase, which failed to correct the issue because City Council and the mayor put through a 2% tax increase based on the square footage of your home; 3.) Pay raises of 4% for all city workers (this raise was also given to current council members, and the mayor also received an increase in salary, with an expense account, a personal assistant and a company car). There was a fee for runoff water, which we never paid before, but it had to be passed on to the taxpayer because they could no longer absorb this fee. However, it was stopped when big corporations complained about it. It will now be paid from an electric surplus account. If funds run out in this account, then we could face more fees or taxes to keep the city out of the red.
As a concerned taxpayer, I am not against the hardworking city workers and police department getting well-deserved raises. I am against laying off any city workers. My issue is that the mayor and council are quick to pass on fees, raise electric fees, raise trash fees and increase taxes to balance the budget. At no time have they stated or shown any cost-cutting measures or how they would bring more needed revenue into the city’s coffers. When we have issues/concern with our budgets in our individual homes, we cut out vacations, put off home repairs and refrain from buying new vehicles or other high-end items. If funds are critically low, then we need to trim our city budget. I am not for cutting key services, but if we have money issues, we need to take corrective measures. We should cut out July Fourth fireworks, stop hanging up Christmas lights or have any types of parades. These are luxury items. I am not antiholiday, but if we have money issues, we need to tighten our belts.
With our current money worries, how are the mayor and council going to purchase equipment for the city when it is needed, without raising taxes or adding fees? What steps are they taking to make the individual city departments run more frugally? What steps are they taking to streamline individual departments and cut out waste? And, by waste, I do not mean cutting critical services to the public.
The mayor and council want to build luxury apartments on the site of the old post office and a property near the Dover firehouse. This is poor judgment on their part. These areas have issues with prostitution, drugs and homelessness, and are high in crime. Nobody is going to move into a luxury apartment with these types of issues right outside his or her front door. I do not blame the police department for many of the problems that I mentioned because the current district attorney is not prosecuting many criminal infractions, which ties the hands of all the officers who serve us daily.
Our next regular municipal election will be April 15. We will have the opportunity to vote for the following seats: councilperson at large and districts 1, 2, 3 and 4. If the individuals on council cannot solve the financial issues facing the city, they need to be replaced. It is our mayor and council’s responsibility to take care of the hardworking citizens of Dover. It is their responsibility to bring funds into the city’s coffers and to use/spend our tax money wisely. We just had national elections, and the American people showed they are tired of elected officials not listening to their individual issues and fears. Citizens are upset with all the fees and increases. The mayor and council should not think that the taxpayers aren’t upset because they do not come to meetings to express their individual concern. Many citizens are working more than one job to keep their heads above water or are in poor health or have child care issues and cannot make the meetings. However, they will make the time for the upcoming election and have their individual voices heard. Lastly, I believe the mayor and many of the council members are doing a poor job communicating with the citizens of our city. They are quick to put in place new fees and increase rates on our trash and electric but do not communicate at all to the citizens about what steps, if any, they have taken to avoid/reduce the financial issues the city is facing.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
