On Aug. 12, the City Council allowed residents to vote on whether they want to incur $25 million in debt for the development of new recreational facilities and existing parks improvements. On the surface this seems noble and democratic, but in this case it’s more like Pontius Pilate turning the fate of Jesus over to a crowd gathered around City Hall.
Depending on the weather and political passions on Election Day, throwing this ill-defined issue to voters is a roll of the dice. A simple mind would give the electorate a 50-50 chance of selecting the wrong option, but the odds change to 90-10 when one realizes that the $25 million is an arbitrary number, according to the city’s own study.
Marietta residents do not know where, or for what purposes, new parks will be built, how much they will cost, or if they will negatively affect neighborhood traffic, noise, light levels, etc. Voters do not know the location and costs of proposed parks improvements. No city official has revealed how much future property taxes will be raised to cover the new parks’ operation expenses. Finally, the city manager has not said how much money will have to be used from federal, state, private and the city’s general fund, impact fees, user fees, and re-dedicated millage to augment the bond funds.
The 2009-2019 Comprehensive Recreation Master Plan determined $54.6 million needs to be spent on recreation and suggested $31.5 million of this amount come from bonds, with the rest coming from the funds listed above. “The most logical sources of permanent funding at the local level could include a combination of the general fund, bonds and dedicated millage. In the event that a dedicated millage does not become reality, the amount of the bond referendum would increase,” the plan says.
What this means is a second parks bond referendum could be coming, or the city wasted $60,000 on its document, or city officials are as confused as I am about why they are holding a bond referendum in November with a fairy-tale price tag.
One thing is for sure, a simple vote does not result in a simple solution to Marietta’s future recreational needs. It only lets city officials off the hook and allows them to mask the spending of taxpayer money. Voters like me, with a philosophy of “throw it out when in doubt,” will vote against the bond. Residents who feel that giving city officials $25 million is “good for Marietta” will support the bond. The problem is both sides will be wrong because our elected officials have not done their job.
Mariettans, raise your hand if you are confident you have the information required to saddle your neighbors with $25 million in debt. All the rest call your council person and tell him or her to postpone the referendum and give us some facts and figures.
Larry Wills, a retired environmental designer, lives in Marietta.
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