Letter to the Editor: I was there. Where were you?

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
― Margaret Mead

Well, this would certainly be a great Mission Statement for the Cottonwood City Council, but notice the type of “change” this small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens will effect isn’t actually specified.

Yes, 500 very concerned citizens signed the petition, many of which were at the last council meeting wherein this topic was more or less semi-discussed. No doubt these citizens have keen memories of the condescending manner in which they were treated at that meeting.

Rudy wants to know, “Where are all those people who wrote letters recently about the water rate and bond issue?” and Margaret states that, “The point is the council wants to SEE people not read their comments which by the way most were said to be untrue.” Once again I would have all of you who read this OPED consider how the council treated the people who attended the last meeting specifically to address the water issue’s, disproportionate rate structure and fiscal irresponsibility.

Rudy, how about you spending a few hours of your time word smithing an open letter to all concerned citizens of Cottonwood and The Verde Valley about the mounting PublicBond Debt. You, as a finance professional, should be able to break down what has been done into very simple terms and illustrate to people why this current situation of mounting bond debt is in any way beneficial to a city of 12,000 people and that has been termed a RURAL POVERTY AREA by the US Census Bureau. How are citizens of such an area going to find the extra money to support rising water rates and taxes? These people, most of which are on fixed income and unlike the city council, do not get yearly COLA raises and they sure don’t get merit raises. How about explaining at the next meeting what constitutes a merit raise for city council members. I would think that a merit raise would be given to council members who have advanced credible debt reduction and reasonable and customary water rate solutions. How about providing examples of some meritorious actions put forth by any of the city council members.

In talking to a couple of people that attended the latest meeting I found it interesting that the council rearranged the meeting agenda at the last minute and after the meeting was called to order and the water and fiscal issues were placed last after some “really important” agenda items. You have to understand that this lack of respect for your concerned citizens comes through loud and clear. By placing the challenging issues last on the agenda you automatically limit the time that can be allocated for these issues. Keep in mind that when a tactic is recognized as a tactic it is no longer a tactic.

It also came to my attention that the council insulted a citizen from an unincorporated area regarding receiving a free benefit in using the dog park. I’m told that when the fact was disclosed that this citizen is a large contributor to the dog park there was quite a moment of pregnant silence. Plus, you should really keep in mind that a person like this might have come to the dog park after having their dog groomed at a local merchant’s or perhaps had shopped at Pet Sense. Doesn’t a person like this who shops in Cottonwood regularly pay a lot of sales tax some of which goes to the dog park.

Suffice it to say, excluding the disproportionate number of residents below the poverty line, most seniors, and an equally disproportionate number of homeless, everyone that visits Cottonwood on a regular basis give more than they take in terms of financial resources and in terms of donations to local charities.

You people are PUBLIC SERVANTS and despite the fact that you are the lowest penny ante politicians in the political food chain your duty is to serve, not exploit. if you want the 500 people to attend your meeting so you can see them please don’t act in a manner that is undeserving of your positions. Place the water and financial issues first on the agenda and please don’t insult people’s intelligence by making a last minute agenda switcheroo. Have some respect for the people who pay your outrageous salaries and remember, the citizens of Cottonwood and surrounding areas are your CUSTOMERS so how about treating them as customers. In other words, DON’T MAKE YOUR PROBLEMS THEIR PROBLEMS.

So, how about you plan to explain at the September 2nd meeting, in common ordinary Greek terms, how your Budget Plan supports the sustainability of Cottonwood’s citizens and Cottonwood as a city. And how about explaining the water rate situation truthfully. Nobody believes that you pump water from the unincorporated areas to Cottonwood and then pump it back to the unincorporated areas. That’s a process that is just begging for improvement. And, how about filling us in on how you condemned several private water systems and yet they were/are still suitable for use. And let’s not go into eminent domain as that seems to be quite a stretch legally.

So, to sum up, the 500 signatories are more than happy to let the city council see them, but not for 5 minutes at the end of the council meeting. And these people expect to be treated with respect as your CUSTOMERS!! If you can’t assure you can behave in a non-condescending manner as the PUBLIC SERVANTS you are, do all of us a favor and publish that fact well in advance of September 2.

A very concerned and dissatisfied CUSTOMER..

Well Al, the folks wishing you good luck may have been referencing you being able to obtain the necessary number of signatures. The fact that the city wants to see the 500 signatories is a bit like saying, “Al, we don’t think those signatures are from real people.”

Pragmatically, it shouldn’t be up to the citizens of Cottonwood and the Verde Valley to have to educate the Cottonwood city government on how to do their jobs with the best interest of their CUSTOMERS as their driver.

The 500 signatures should be considered a mandate requiring Cottonwood city government to explain to the citizens of Cottonwood and Verde Valley, in full detail, why their decisions regarding water and junk bonds make sense for the city. How do these decisions promote sustainability of Cottonwood, The Verde Valley and all their citizens. How do these decisions integrate into the one year, five year, ten year plans for the growth of a fiscally healthy city. The oweness is on the city officials to explain and defend why their actions make sense for Cottonwood and The Verde Valley, and to explain this to the satisfaction of the majority of all the affected citizens.

The story Al reflects on the contaminated Verde Villages water and the reaction from the people entrusted to provide their CUSTOMERS clean, sanitary water speaks volumes. The attitudes of lower level employees of most companies typically reflect the attitude of their management. Now, I ask you, who wants to attend a meeting where instead of being treated like CUSTOMERS people are treated like a nuisance to be dispatched as quickly as possible.

September 2nd should be the opportunity for the city officials to clearly explain and defend their actions. It should not be another opportunity to badger and insult the city’s CUSTOMERS!