Letters to the Editor: On the same team

I usually agree with Art Cullen’s editorials, but I believe his attack on “the king can do no wrong” argument advanced by Buena Vista County misses the point.  The TIF lawsuit filed by the City of Storm Lake against Buena Vista County should be dropped, not because of governmental immunity or the statute of limitations, but because this asinine lawsuit won’t provide relief to taxpayers or repair whatever damage was done by the county’s inaccurate distribution of tax dollars. 

Certainly “the king” — in this case the county government — did wrong, giving too much of our tax dollars to the local school district, the community college, the city’s general fund, the local cemetery fund, the hospital, keeping too much for itself, while shorting a TIF district. But those tax dollars have been spent by the entities that received them — the school district, community college, the hospital, cemetery. There is no pot of money to be recovered. The inaccurately distributed funds have been spent.

So where will the money come from if the lawsuit is successful? The answer is that either programs will be cut, services dropped or taxes raised, and probably all three if the lawsuit is successful. Does anyone believe the public school system can give back the funds it was overpaid without consequence, or do we expect the county to cover all the funds that were distributed in error to the school district, the hospital, agricultural extension, the community college and the cemetery?   

We all recognize that local governments represent taxpayers and are funded by them.  Buena Vista County actually receives over half of its property tax revenue from the property taxpayers of Storm Lake. If the county must pay, guess who shares in the burden — every Storm Lake property taxpayer. The bottom line is that the property taxpayers of Storm Lake are paying for a lawsuit that even if it wins will shrink government services, or our wallets, or both.

Meanwhile, legal fees are over $125,000 and growing. All because TIF funds were diverted in error, wrongfully benefiting all of us instead of a Storm Lake Industrial Park TIF district. Perhaps the lines are too hardened to entertain a change in course at this point, but wouldn’t it be nice if the local governments recognized that we’re all on the same team? 

Dave Patton, Storm Lake

Thanks to Avery

I want to thank Avery Felton for a moving piece in the May 31 Storm Lake Times Pilot. Her family, community and school should be proud of this young lady. Our country will not lose Democracy if we have students like Avery that will ask questions and be open-minded to those around her for answers.

My husband was a Vietnam era veteran and proud of his country. I buried him on the day of Avery’s article. Needless to say, her article lifted my heart when it was at its lowest.

Mary S. Gillespie, Sidney

Solution to open borders

President Joe Biden, who is solely responsible for the invasion of nine million illegal aliens who have entered America during his open-borders administration, has a novel solution to solve that problem.

He is concerned that any restrictions to reducing illegal immigration may harm his election chances with immigration activists and Latinos. The solution is to grant amnesty for hundreds of thousands in our country who are married to U.S. citizens. That would make it “one of the largest immigration programs launched in recent decades.”

All done to enhance his re-election chances, meanwhile thousands continue to enter our country illegally daily.

Vic Massara, Omaha, Neb.

We must use our voices

We are familiar with  the adages, “All politics is local,” from former Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, from Benjamin Franklin in 1867, “A republic, if you can keep it.”  “Democracy is not a spectator sport,”  from Michael Moore.

I used my voice last week, by calling my school board member. I readily identified my qualifiers, I do not have children in school, but I remain committed to our young people. I communicated with her to express my concern about the upcoming decision she and other  school board members will have to make about arming teachers and school staff. She graciously listened to my thoughts, and encouraged me to call anytime, and to share with others that she could be contacted about policy issues.

I was grateful for that type of response, but I also want to receive that willingness to learn  and to listen from other elected public representatives.

I frequently look to the dictionary when trying to get to the very basics of comprehension. I was intrigued by Ben Franklin’s response about “Republic.” Democracy and Republic seem to be interchangeable, both meaning a government in which the people vote for their leaders. An article written in 1967 by Pitkins (57 years ago, but still relevant) defines representation in two areas. First, representing according to what the constituents express, or second, what the representatives themselves judge is in the best interest of the citizens.

Most recently, on June 4, I was dismayed to read that Senator Joni Ernst promised to oppose judicial nominees, spending bills and other major legislation to protest Donald Trump’s recent guilty verdict. This guilty verdict was in the State of New York, and a jury of his peers after listening to the evidence found him guilty. The verdict had nothing to do with our elected senator not representing me and her constituents in the United States Congress.

The abortion decision for Iowa will soon be handed down by the Iowa Supreme Court. It is expected that Iowa will have no abortions after six weeks. No matter what the circumstances. The Des Moines Register reported in a Mediacom Iowa Poll in 2022, that 85% of abortions should be legal in the cases of rape or incest, and 80% if the pregnant person’s life is in danger.

The above-mentioned examples of our political leaders choosing not to learn from or listen to their constituents is a form of democracy, but the type when the elected representative chooses the earlier mentioned second approach, or when their decision is deemed best for the electorate.

During the campaigns of my house and senate representatives, I did not hear them advocate for banning books, or diminishing the area education systems. We as constituents do have a responsibility to provide our thoughts and opinions to our elected officials during their tenure in office. We must use our voices. If we remain dissatisfied, we must then vote.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has a quote from Margaret Mead.

Mary Weaver, Rippey