IntenseDebate - RobbyMarvin

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Linn votes to review b... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'm a big fan of having a live, breathing budget. While I can't speak as to how necessary it is at the County level, I think it's fair to reassess spending mid-year. However, if Supervisor Roger's point about bigger departments lobbying for an exemption holds true, we have a problem. It's the bigger departments with the larger ticketed items that you'd tend to want to watch more closely.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Take a day off, Linn C... · 0 replies · 0 points

Agreed!

"Use it or lose" after a certain point seems reasonable to me. I'm curious though... Would you be allowed or forced to work overtime hours to make up for the work you didn't get done because of vacation?! Wouldn't that be time and a half? Also, what about the opportunity cost of delay in city services?

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Muscatine seeking fund... · 0 replies · +1 points

3 suggested alternatives to strictly adding additional police force:

1) Additional lighting. Improved lighting in neighborhoods makes it harder for shady characters to loiter. The catch is you have to enforce the "no loitering" policy.

2) Help residents become part of the solution. Does Muscatine have a Crime Watch group or Neighborhood association?

3) Mixed use commercial/residential property open at different hours of the day. Multiple people coming and going at all hours of the day detour possible thugs.

I can't guarantee this will fix the problem, but it seems like a better long term solution then temporarily federally funding additional police. When the funding stops, someone else will either have to fund the new police force or someone is going to get fired, neither of which are good scenarios...

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Police question Iowa C... · 0 replies · +7 points

Big thanks should go out to the kid who said something! Short of metal detectors, you have to rely on the kids being part of the solution to preventing school violence. Though no ill will may have been involved, it's still scary to think about.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Land acquisition for H... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'll admit, I don't understand the expansion either. I'm with those who would rather see improvements to our existing roadways. Paving more roads to solve traffic problems is equivalent to saying throw money at the problem. Corbett and the council have done a good job thus far of making the trains run on time, but this is one where I wouldn't mind seeing "a culture of delay."

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Linn-Mar school board ... · 1 reply · +1 points

I'd ask the good people on the school board to think very carefully about voting for a decrease. Taxpayers are already used to paying the money right now. Some families I've talked to have moved into the area because they understand that the extra property taxes they pay goes towards the school. it's much easier to justify that taxes remain the same this year than to justify a tax increase in future years. Plus, regardless of how much money the state allocates to schools this year, state budgets across the nation are still in limbo. My two cents: save for the next rainy day.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Family policy group op... · 0 replies · +1 points

Agreed GrandpaR. Just because we have the opportunity to legalize internet gambling doesn't mean it would be the responsible thing to do. We do have plenty of opportunities for Iowans to gamble. You won't hear Dubuque or Riverside complaining - they're already winning on the system.

Try thinking about it in these terms: Gambling is essentially a tax on the thrill for an opportunity to strike it big. Does the state ever lose money on gambling? No - why else would they do it? Everyone is OK with a tax that doesn't affect them. But someone has to pay it. You're going to have a hard time convincing me that the only people this affects are Grandma and Grandpa who have retirement money to blow and time to waste. Though a person should have the personal choice to gamble if they see fit, I don't like the moral implications on Iowa taking the lead on this.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Law that holds parents... · 0 replies · 0 points

I agree this is a slippery slope, but to some extent, parents should be held accountable for their children's actions as minors. Your example goes a bit far commonsenseguy, but I'm with you in wanting to rethink this a bit. Jail time for the parents would be over the top. I don't think the Supreme Court will go this far though.

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Polk County rejects ra... · 0 replies · +1 points

Linn County also elected to unanimously freeze elected officials salaries this year. Does something else have you upset?

16 years ago @ GazetteOnline.com - Make guards optional, ... · 0 replies · +2 points

I do - I feel bad for those who have been seriously hurt by their yardees, however, let the guards be an optional purchase by the yardee user. Maybe it's not as obvious as "don't run with scissors" or "don't drive with hot coffee in your lap" but still. Let's look at the alternative costs of $540k - For the estimated cost of the yardee guard we could save 10+ city jobs, start construction on the amphitheatre, lower property taxes for all CR citizens by a few bucks, fix up some of the streets or sewage issues, offer help to flood businesses & flood owners, etc. I'm sure you can think of a few other "better" uses for the money.

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