The power of one
There’s
power in one. One person. One idea. One comment. One vote.
It’s
budget time for cities and counties, and there is no better time for
individuals to discover the power of one.
Budget
hearings in the Wood River Valley traditionally draw no one. One person in
the audience is a crowd.
Every year
residents are nowhere to be found during city and county budget
deliberations. Afterward, they often find that favorite public works
projects missed out on funding.
The high
level of dissent when local governments do something residents don’t
like makes it hard to believe that people don’t care.
Two local
projects illustrate the need for participation.
Blaine
County is trying to figure out what to do about Blaine Manor, the nursing
home that cost local taxpayers $1.1 million last year. Commissioners are
trying to decide whether to expand it to make it a paying proposition or
close it. Either choice would have far-reaching impacts.
Ketchum is
wondering whether it should commit itself to paying hundreds of thousands
of dollars a year to operate a recreation center while paying far less to
meet pressing needs for community housing and transportation planning.
The fate of
both the nursing home and a community recreation center will be determined
in budgets that will soon come up for public hearings.
Residents
should pick a budget. Pick a plan. Pick a position and speak out.
It’s a
great time to experience the power of one.