Hooray for the City Council (or, more precisely, the five Republicans on it) for beating back the Richard administration's attempt to get $1.25 million more out of taxpayers. Considering the billions and billions we read about in stories of the federal and even state government, it's a piddling amount. But it's a small victory for taxpayers who sometimes wonder if there's anybody left in government who still realizes it's the public's money that's being spent. A spark of old-fashioned conservatism still exists here. Maintaining a "rainy day" fund is fine, but those of us out here who pay the city's bills have rainy days, too.
Love this paragraph:
Roller said Fort Wayne is the only city in Indiana not taking the maximum levy. Don Schmidt, R-2nd District, said, “I personally think that's not such a bad advertisement for economic development.”
Schmidt has kept the faith on fiscal responsibility on the council for a long, long time, sometimes seemingly singlehandedly. He has a good ally in John Crawford, newly elected president, and it's nice to think we might see more such toughness under his leadership. Tom Smith had a good year as president, but he put his emphasis on trying to get input on big issues with his "fifth Tuesday" meetings.
