This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Public Hearing on County Spending!

Washington County has submitted it's $140 million dollar 2014-2018 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and is going to take public comments and consider changes before approving it.  Please consider attending:

Date: December 17, 2013
Time: 9AM  
Where: Washington County Board Room  (5th floor)           
14949 62nd St N, Stillwater, MN 55082
CIP Link: http://www.co.washington.mn.us/documentcenter/view/4381
RSVP Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/541040632647136/?ref=22
Why:
The plan sets out major county spending for the next five years, a lot of it necessary. Spending includes money for roads, government building repairs, equipment replacement, the gateway corridor, and parks.

However, 4 major reasons you should review the plan and come to comment:


1.) WC already has $180 million dollars in debt ($225 with interest)
 (p. 130http://www.co.washington.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/3226 )     The payment is $12 million a year and $6 million of that is lost to interest charges. The county has added $137 million of the $180 in just the last 6 years! Spending needs to be reigned in.

2.) The board is trying to be strategic by waiting until after the 2014 elections to add another $37.5 million dollars to our debt in 2015.
 These projects include:
-$17,500,000 in debt to double the size of the 58,000sq foot Public Works North Shop with a state of the art overbuilt building that will add $300,000 a year in running costs alone.
-$1,500,000 in debt to renovate Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park (should use the millions available in the Land and Legacy Fund not add to our debt)

This happened once before when in 2007 they added $80 million in debt to build themselves the County Government Center addition (see pic).

3.) Many of the projects sound like a bad idea and a waste of resources.
-$20,000 to put lights in one stair case at the historic courthouse (that isn't open at night)
-$2,000,000 to redo the Community Services Health and Welfare (4rth) floor at the Government Center, it was built in 2010.
-$17,500,000 to double the size of the 58,000sq foot Public Works North Shop with a state of the art overbuilt building that will add $300,000 a year in running costs alone.
-$340,000 for one curtain wall in the Law Library -Millions for potential roundabout construction (budgeted, sites not yet named. $400,000 a year to pick the intersections)
-$350,000 to add RFID chips to the library books (current bar code scan system works fine)
-$210,000 to replace up to date and working self check out library check out stations with new equipment that can accept credit cards (last I checked you don't need money at the library)
-$6,000 for one seized currency counter (how often are thousands of dollars in cash seized in Washington County to justify this cost?)
-On and on 

4.)
 In 2006 voters approved the Land and Water Legacy sales tax to build a $20,000,000 fund specifically for parks, land, water, etc. There's millions of dollars remaining in the fund. Yet the proposed CIP fails to use this resource on many appropriate future projects opting instead to deplete other local funds. Funds that could keep our taxes low or support more critical needs. Some of the projects include:
-$300,000 taken from the gravel tax fund to pay for the $2 million dollar phase I construction of a swim pond in Lake Elmo
-$1,500,000 of the $3,300,000 renovation of the Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park
-$175,000 in Park trail preservation and connections

Each citizen who wishes to speak gets 5 minutes to speak before the board. 
If you have questions or need help visit our site.

-Matt Behning
www.fb.com/WCwatchdog

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?