I generally agree with Bill Stuart here. As James Madison said, if we were all angels there would be no need for government. The reason government exists is to provide police and courts to resolve disputes peacefully and to protect people from the harm done by others. Today municipal governments are involved in providing utilities, permitting processes on private property, libraries, recreational facilities, and many other endeavors. While I would hope for a return to smaller government, the people that work for our city are doing a very good job regardless of what department they are in. The city has done an excellent job under difficult circumstances to put us in good financial condition. As we go forward in our budget process I believe we will be able to put the right priorities on the core responsibilities of government.
We have had 2 rather short council meetings since I last posted. On June 4 we had a discussion of fees for services provided by the city. It was noted that the golf course fees for merchandise and snacks are based on 40% of cost. Dale Mitchell asked how the cost is determined. It seems to me that we should not be micro-managing the prices of items in the golf course. It is customary for the course to offer discounts depending on season or if a group is having a tournament. We do not want the city telling one person they get a discounted water tap fee and another person has to pay more. I think it would be better to state in the table of fees that these items will be priced at the discretion of the golf course manager with approval of the city manager.
Last night we discussed the results of the excellent work by the Charter Review committee. Perhaps the most contentious issue is whether we are in compliance in using separate accounts on our bonds. Dale Mitchell showed how some of the ordinances that we previously passed stated a separate depository should be used for each bond. Council believes going forward we should not require separate bank accounts for each bond. As long as they are separate in our accounting we are fine. Perhaps we need to be careful in our wording of bond ordinances going forward.
We also had a discussion of those bond projects that had been deferred and what our priorities are going forward. We want to be frugal and prioritize the projects we spend money on.
For a completely different topic, you may enjoy this:
Lastly, I dare comment about religion in politics. This posting may inflame you, but I just gotta say it. Last night we began our city council meeting with a very eloquent invocation by a local pastor. We have such an invocation every month. I do not think we should do this. We are not a Christian council. Our laws and taxes apply to Muslims, atheists, Jews, Druids, and whatever. As a life long Christian that takes my faith seriously, I want government to have no role or influence in religion. Saying a Christian prayer before a council meeting is wrong. We should have no prayer and just get on with business. I am not going to make a big deal about it unless I have others in the community willing to work with me on this. If I made a big deal about every single thing I disagree with I would not be as brilliantly effective as I am.
I will close by further inflaming all the pet lovers out there. I think the most volatile subjects in lago Vista are government, religion, and dogs. Wouldn't you love Lago Vista to emulate this city?
Now that's a town that has really gone to the dogs! I won't be around for July 4, I will be building a hiking trail in Arizona. In the meantime, let's hope we can keep government constrained to its proper role, which has nothing to do with religion or dogs.
WHY I RAN FOR OFFICE IN 2008:
After some time off, I'm running for City Council again because I want to serve our community. I've got the time for this important American tradition and in Lago Vista it's a completely volunteer position. I'll continue to be an independent voice watching out for the best interests of our community and I am especially committed to minimizing the impact on taxpayers. I'm not afraid to be the lone dissenting vote on an issue if I think it's unfair or against the best interests of Lago Vista home owners. What I hear most often is that you want to preserve the unique character of Lago Vista in the face of increased growth pressure from Austin. I will do my best to represent you.
Lago Vista is a great community that faces challenges as we grow. We need representation on city council that will listen to our concerns and is not afraid to address the important issues.
Pat Dixon will represent YOUR concerns on city council!
