“If you want my trust, you are going to have to earn it” is an exclamation I have heard throughout my life, from my parents, bosses, and loved ones. And I think we can all remember the time we have been told as kids, “You have lost my trust, now you’re going to have work hard to earn it back.” And while we were busy earning that trust back, there were limits on what we could and couldn’t do. Those limits were called restrictions. I am sure we have all had our share of restrictions, but one thing about them, we didn’t like them, and we sure tried to make sure we never had those limits imposed on us again by trying not to make the same mistake twice. Our city and our school can use a lesson from limits and restrictions.

Our city government is eager to get a penny approved and our school board is eager to get its penny renewed. Well, both of our children haven’t behaved very well. Our city government wasn’t paying attention to what it was doing and lost over a million dollars in landfill fees. Incompetence somewhat, but in this case it truly was just an oversight on the cities part. No intentional harm was brought to anyone from this costly mishap. They made a mistake, and instead of hiding it like most kids do, they were honest and brought it to our attention. Now this isn’t the only thing the city has done, but lets look at the good it has done. The city of Columbus cut spending and increased revenues last year, which shows they are learning their lesson on how to conserve better and work with what they have available to them. I believe that calls for our support for this penny increase.

In order for our city to give back some trust in a unanimous manner, the city is going to have to give something as well. Let’s call it the “Columbus Consolidated Government Trust Stimulus Package.” We will agree to the a one penny increase in our tax for the CITY, if Columbus will let the people decide on any project of significant cost that is set by the community, the project will not move forward until the people who will be paying for the project have voted Yea or Na to proceed. The people of Columbus are tired of being told what their tax dollars are going for and then seeing them be spent in a whole different manner. It’s our money and our city, and we should have the final say for anything that costs over a certain amount of money. The current system of carte blanche is no longer acceptable, which leads me to the cities evil sister, the school board.

Now you want to talk about a boarding school material child, turn those words around and what do you have? The School Board. We have made their sister, the city suffer over and over again. The city had a chance to get a penny back in 2004, but evil sister School Board had to go above and beyond on its dollhouse library that was only to cost so many million and ended up costing more. Then the city had an opportunity like a scholarship called TAD where people would come in and fix up properties in dire areas to help raise local property value and increase tax revenue dollars needed to help keep the cities streets safe. What does evil sister do? Evil sister, the School Board, wanted a bigger dollhouse one that costs more than the $13 M she was allowed, no she wanted a $31 M Barbie Dreamhouse with a view.

Parents have always had a tendency to displace their emotions when one child upsets them. It throws off the balance of a happy home. And right now, Columbus is not a happy home. We have been deceived by a group of people who promised one thing and totally proposed another. I say proposed, because we haven’t started building it yet. I think the fact that they have totally ignored not only a majority but also all of Columbus is deplorable, unethical, and even illegal and they continue to rub it in our face. When brave souls on the board that make up the minority on this obese atrocity of misappropriation try to stand up for what they know is right, and what their community wants, they are ridiculed and taunted in public by their fellow board members. I have heard what these members in favor have had to say and I have heard what their community is saying. Somehow, you are not getting the message. They elected you to stand up and say No to misspending of funds. They trusted you to be fiscally responsible with their tax dollars, providing textbooks, instruments, teaching materials, classrooms, and anything that will help better their children’s education. But instead, you have taken their money and used it on what you want and what is better, not for the kids, but for you.