City’s rejection of report is sad commentary

For the city to completely reject the grand jury’s report (“City to ignore jury’s report,” June 13) is sheer fiscal absurdity. Ignorance is bliss, but arrogance in government by city officials is perilous and reckless. “He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.” —George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara.

The city attorney said, “They released it deliberately to affect the outcome of the election.” Mayor Dave Weaver accused the civil grand jury of becoming “too political.” This was a diversionary tactic to avoid complicity in a corrupt system where for years the city’s representatives, its employees and unions were the winners and the taxpayers were the losers, trading election support for union concessions.

Our city officials are entrusted with a fiscal duty to protect, preserve and exercise fiscal prudence. Failure to do so not only puts the city’s fiscal health in peril, but also the citizens and taxpayers who live in the community, who are asked to foot the bill for the city officials’ failures to exercise due diligence.

The civil grand jury serves as a watchdog and is charged with investigating city, county and other government agencies. It is unconscionable for city representatives to continue to misrepresent the facts regarding the forthcoming electric rate increases that are a direct result of the city’s misuse of GWP revenues, using it as a back door tax to transfer adequate funds to the General Fund to meet budget shortfalls to pay for unsustainable salaries, pensions and benefits, leaving infrastructure in dire need of repair. Not reported was that the utility increases are designed for city representatives to take up to 25% off the top to pay for its future unfunded debt obligations. The fact that the city rejected the grand jury’s report in total is a sad commentary on the city’s future financial well-being.

Kenneth Landon
Glendale