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To the editors,
How many Chickasha citizens actually know the buffoonery of their officials and staff? What about the $200 million water-infrastructure problem that starts at the Ft. Cobb reservoir and travels 30 miles to Chickasha’s water-treatment facility?
The lines need dug up and replaced, as well as most every piece of pipe in town. Very large project that needs to happen NOW!
Do the residents of Chickasha know that numerous health issues, links to various cancers, as well as the very high cancer rate in Chickasha over the last few decades could stem from the town’s drinking water?
The City of Chickasha has a tenth of the funds necessary to complete the project in a municipal account.
By now, most residents surely know that their city government is very diligent at keeping the citizens that they “work for” in the dark. They manipulate and impose “fees” on you, tricking you into thinking you NEED them. What they are really doing is taxing you to death. Going around a tax that didn’t pass a vote of the people by imposing a “fee” that only City Council can vote on.
City officials want to take millions from this fund over the next few years for a project over 20 minutes from Chickasha that’s not even related to the water crisis described above, kicking dozens of low- to middle-class people out of their retirement and paid vacation spots to be replaced by higher income families that may not ever come and throwing money away on a disc golf course (that none of you will use) and a tree farm on land that only grows salt cedars and gyp-alkali dustnados instead of fixing your toxin-laced drinking water.
Many of the toxins in your water don’t have to be ingested or swallowed to hurt you and your kids. Delayed death through the pores of your skin and even from breathing in water vapors. Drinking bottled water, soft-water systems and particulate filter systems won’t fix this!
Take ownership of your town!
At Chickasha’s budget meeting last week, the city officials groaned about the loss of oilfield revenue. With a $600,000 shortfall, the city manager gave his proposal: one police officer and one firefighter would have their jobs frozen, as well as two city street-maintenance workers!
I may be a country boy, but even Festus knows these positions need to remain filled. When asked about any real data, his response was to look for a staff member to help or simply say that it was purely a GUESSTIMATE. Never can give anyone true data or a real, fact-filled answer. Within five minutes he was recommending that a new $40,000 CPA be hired to help him with HIS workload.
Now I’m no rocket surgeon, but seems to me that his GUESSTIMATE is a little low, especially when you factor in total compensation with benefits. Then he went on and started advising to transfer various jobs and salaries to the above-mentioned CMA fund, then went over the “drainage fee,” basically taxing you for anything that hampers the raindrops from making it all the way to the soil directly: $7 minimum monthly charge per home. Then, [he] recommended [a] $6 to $8 increase on your water bill because of the budget shortfall. So, you’re looking at around $15 to $25 more monthly on your water bill! Are you ticked off yet?
But wait, there’s more. I need to remind you of the $400,000 he proposes to take from the CMA fund this first year to use on his Lake Chickasha proposal. This money would almost pay for the police officer, firefighter, two street-maintenance workers and a good percentage of the shortfall-induced drainage utility fee and the other water bill increase, but excuse me for being practical.
And then YOUR city manager mentioned of a new quarter-cent sales tax to help fund public safety. They are hiding their wasteful spending and relying on you to not be inquisitive enough to figure out that they already have the funds to pay for cops and firefighters, but they know they can spread the rumor that the sales tax increase is for “public safety” and get it passed.
All the while blowing your city money on projects that are miniscule in comparison to the water that is coming out of your tap!
Sincerely,
Waylon Heavin
Verden
