Let us get one thing straight!

Let us get one thing straight, it is not my intent to "blame" the mayor for the fact of the litter. I am criticizing him, because he is the only individual in a position to cause enforcement to occur. Because of his elected position as the chief operating officer of our city government, with the legal power to implement enforcement, he is derelict in his duty when he fails to take steps - any steps - to keep the streets and viaducts litter-free.

If it takes more money, then we citizens must be required to step up by paying higher fees for trash and litter control. If viewed as the base-reason for our city's reputation ("trashy" city?), then all stops must be pulled to correct it. Either we citizens voluntarily join in to do it as a major step toward economic survival, or we do it through major enforcement of our current ordinances that level fines and/or jail-time. We have to get this thing under control now!

Mayor David Felinton is our leader. He should have made this a top priority eight-years-ago, without being concerned that citizens would be upset with the implementation of higher fees! What citizens are truly upset about is the City's continuous failure to use city user fees for the projects for which they are collected.

We citizens must understand that we live in a city with extremely low costs for public services. If we want the required trash and litter control, we are going to have to "pay the fiddler". However, it is the mayor's responsibility to develop a plan of attack, including the required level of personnel and funding for equipment, etc. and to present it to City Council for debate and possible funding action.

That is all I am saying. "Mr. Mayor, give us a plan, including required labor costs, equipment costs and a tactical plan for getting our city cleaned up and presentable. You, Sir, will have to look to the citizens, through a local option sales tax, payroll tax or user fees to pay for it. In the words of my father, "Those who play must pay!"

The future of our city must start with getting it cleaned up and keeping it clean - no matter what the cost! The mayor is the responsible party for the strategic plan and the tactics for implementing it.