Letter: Why do we bother?

What is the point of local government? It's the government we see most in our day-to-day lives and the government we turn to first when things go wrong. The current estimated $12 million shortfall, while not insignificant, does not warrant panicked reactions. Erratic changes in baseline city services are bad for everyone and should be the last, not the first option.

The idea that cutting the city pools — mothballing Augustus Brown would save $600,000, and shuttering Dimond Park Aquatic Center would save about $1 million — or closing the Juneau-Douglas City Museum entirely for a savings of less than $500,000 is going to change the budget situation in any meaningful way is horse manure. Anyone who suggests such is pushing you to drink the Kool-Aid or is drunk on it themselves already.

The point of all this is to provide services to the public. Not to turn a city park into a gold mine with yet another Eaglecrest boondoggle, and not to have the fanciest City Hall. The point is to provide a solid foundation that you, your family, and your business can rely on.

I, for one, would be afraid to stand up in front of you, my neighbors and peers, and say that the only thing I can imagine as a response is a collective spanking. I suppose it's easier for the Assembly to punish friends, family, and neighbors than it is to actually look at options with the budget or, God forbid, stand up to Cruise Lines International Association in court. We see tens of millions of dollars coming into town every year, and we see the impacts of high-volume, Walmart-style tourism from one end of the road system to the other.

The point of the city is to work for you — not around you. Cutting the basic services that make this town a community is not and never will be the answer.

Clayton Dale

Juneau