A Slow Trickle in the Dark

The latest dismal financial news: Half the city's steetlights will be out in an effort to save $70,000.

Again, like last night's post, not good news.

I know there are a lot of people who are opposed to switching off the lights, for public safety reasons. Perfectly valid.

Let's do this here though: If you're opposed to a cut, whether it's the streetlights, PD, or somewhere else, that's cool. We all have priorities. But if you're against a cut, you have to realize that the money has to come from somewhere else. Where would you take money from to fund your priority? Or where would you find new money to pay for your priority? It's easy to say you want the streetlights on, but unfortunately we're at the point where you have to figure how to pay for something like that.

So, before you write a two-line rip job, think about it. Where would you get the $70,000 to fix the streetlights? And try to be specific. If you say "school dept.," that's fine, but say where. Two teachers? An adminstrator (one that isn't state mandated)? Maybe, just maybe, there's a good idea out there waiting to be discovered.