Local government is wasting our money

To the editor,

It seems that the EARH board intends to continue to waste some $8 million dollars taken on the sly from local citizens. This should be a crime.

Our city council continues to waste millions of dollars as well by failing to write proper contracts and to properly administer those contracts. This too should be a crime.

Millions of dollars earned by citizens are spent needlessly because of elected officials with an agenda at odds with the citizens or because of incompetence. Do they suppose those who earned the wasted and misspent tax dollars had no other use for these monies?

The Journal of June 9 has more bad news. The city is going to borrow $3.5 million to drill a new well and another $2.8 million for replacement for portions of the water delivery system infrastructure. So now we face new loans of $6.3 million to attempt to patch the problems created by city council neglect and mismanagement.

How are these new loans to be repaid? At a city council meeting I was told the city sends out about 800 utility bills. Based on that number, the city council is going to have to raise city utility rates another $40 per month!

Do the mayor and council members really believe Ritzville business owners and families can pay an additional $40 monthly without serious consequences for those business and households?

We were warned in 2010 when the new higher sewer rates were announced that sewer rates would likely be raised again (perhaps in 2012).

Perhaps the Eastern Washington Rural Hospital #2 will return the monies, they absconded with, to the taxpayers (some $8 million).

Then those taxpayers in Ritzville can use that refund to finance the well and water system fix without the need for new loans and the necessity of increased utility rates.

Barry Boyer

Ritzville