Vote for change
To the editor:
There has been considerable political discussion about the agreement that incumbent council members Brandt and Diele and candidates Sullivan, Martin, Chulakes-Leetz and Cataldi have agreed to. I have reviewed that agreement and I find it ironic that the individuals who have been critical of it do not contend that they disagree with any specific provision therein.
I had long advocated the limitation of the annual rate of increase of the general government operations (General Fund) budget not exceed the combined rate population growth and the rate of inflation as now stated in the candidates agreement. The city administration has proposed each year General Fund Budgets that exceeded that combined rate. When I protested those increases the city manager said my position had “no relevancy to the General Fund Budget.” When I left office in April of 2005, the administration’s proposed and subsequently adopted General Fund Budgets really got wild. For the two years 2006 and 2007 the rate of increase was over 60 percent. It would be 68 percent with the amendment.
It should be obvious to all that we need a change in city government. No more on again and off again utility projects. The need today for the gigantic increase in our utility rates is clearly the result of a lack of capital planning. A new contract for future UEP that will bring total engineering costs down is needed. The normal rate for engineering services as published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is 15 percent of the construction cost. The city has been charged about twice that rate. That difference is considerable when you realize that we have had about $700 million in UEP costs under our present contract.
None of the above matters can be blamed on the economy as some allege. I believe a change and new direction of our city is needed. The election of John Sullivan as mayor and Jim Martin, Chulakes-Leetz and John Cataldi as council members is needed to bring needed change.
Arnold E. Kempe
Former Mayor, Cape Coral