Dear Editor:

Despite the City having numerous employees who make less than $16,000 a year and despite the City Treasurer telling us we would have a cash flow problem, the City Council voted to commit $270,000.00 to match a $378,000 (total $648,000.00) grant for Americorp for 44 students. While employees in the cemetery, recreation and public works departments work hard for the city, most are the bread winners for their families, and some have been with the city for many years, we pay many around $15,000-$16,000 a year while we spend $14,727 a year per student who does who knows what. Only Greg Bjelke and I voted against this giveaway while every other member of the council except Corey Bowie voted for this boondoggle. Bowie may have been the smartest one of us all because he said he did not have enough information to make a decision on this issue. Information is scarce about what the 44 students will do. Because I have no idea what the 44 students will do, because the city seems to have survived this part fiscal year without Americorp and saved money by not having Americorp, and because the city has more pressing needs for $270,000.00, I voted no.

The majority of the council also voted to totally destroy property values downtown by voting to sell the $900,000.00 appraised St. James Hotel for a mere $100,000.00. Anyone with property downtown who tries to sell it will find the St. James sold at $5 a square foot the comparable. Not only was it fiscally irresponsible to pay $12,000.00 for a professional appraisal and then reject the appraisal, it is a financial disaster for property owners downtown to have that as the selling price to which their property is compared. Greg Bjelke, Sam Randolph and I voted against this giveaway while all other members of the council voted to sell.

Fortunately, this will be voted on again when the ordinance required for selling city property is presented. If anyone cares, people should call council members and demand this ordinance not be passed and if it is passed, Mayor Evans should veto it.

After these financially troublesome decisions, the council finally got around to dealing with the crises which precipitated the meeting-raises for our employees. After some unnecessary wrangling, we did go on record approving well-deserved raises for city employees. In the coming year, so that we have money for the promised raises, the city council is going to have to change its spending habits and priorities.

Cecil Williamson

City Council member for Ward 1