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Highlands Today

Highlands Today > Raliegh Whiteman Columns

Making difficult decisions is, well, difficult

By Raleigh Whiteman | Highlands Today

Published: July 8, 2009

I do not want to get into an adversarial position with our county or city leaders or insult their intelligence. Their jobs and responsibilities are far more complicated and difficult and perplexing than any I have ever had. I do feel that they need to know that there are some who, when they have to make difficult and unpopular decisions, are there who would support those decisions.

For certain almost everyone is being affected money wise with the ripple effect of the failure and corruption in the banking and financial system and the bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler. Add to that the failure of those in real estate and home construction industry to properly police themselves causing families to be losing their homes to foreclosures.

There must be an awful large sum of money somewhere in the county coffers that is hidden in order to pay for a new sheriff's building and a new civic center. I don't think we have a money printing shop they can use like Obama is doing.

Impact fees for new construction have been canceled so that money is not going to be available for our infrastructure needs. Besides, who in their right mind would build a new house with so many unfinished houses and other houses on the market trying to be sold for less than the amount of their loans.

Much less income

County commissioners should be anticipating a substantial loss of revenue in the coming many years. House evaluations will surely be lowering and there will be less revenue unless they raise our other taxes. The county is very close to being over populated in respect to available water supplies, roads and infrastructure to properly protect the citizens we already have.

Economic collapse is very likely if we do not learn to live with what we have and to properly care for and maintain the existing roads, equipment, and buildings. Continuing expansion is not feasible and it's unhealthy. Continued growth is not necessarily needed for a community to be healthy. Having enough water is necessary, we must remember that coastal cities are drawing water from our supplies already and we have no way to prohibit that. Our county people should be doing everything in their power to make those coastal counties to also start restricting their growth and expansion beyond their limits of supplies.

Bankrupt government

Someone is going to have to pay for these multi-million dollar projects and it may likely be the contractors who will have to accept whatever is offered after the county goes bankrupt.

Look at the situation in California that fiscal irresponsibility has brought about. They have more than $75 billion in bonds outstanding that they will never be able to honor. They have no money in their coffers to pay their workers and other obligations. They are asking Washington to give them a loan to continue operations. If I have Obama figured right he will ask Congress to approve it.

California may be the first to go down to the unknown consequences of bad money management if Congress does the right thing and just says "Not only NO, but HELL NO!"

I can appreciate and realize our county commissioners have a desire to help the hundreds of those who are unemployed in the home construction and real estate industry but some time and somewhere we are all going to have to just say ''NO MORE.''

Raleigh Whiteman, of Lake Placid, is a contributing writer to Highlands Today. You can reach him on the Internet at rwwhiteman@comcast.net

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