What If Wednesday

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I'm starting a new feature on the blog and it's called "What If Wednesday." What if we really had a board of aldermen that were concerned about the City of Lumberton? The other week, someone started a "You're Probably from Lumberton If. . ." facebook page and it brought memories of all the good times we had growing up in Lumberton. Unfortunately, the children that are growing up in Lumberton won't have those types of memories because there is nothing for them to do. Over the years, and this is not just a jab at the current board, the City of Lumberton has lost its way. People have staked their livelihood and political careers on the fact that certain people will not get involved in the growth of this city. The City of Lumberton is spending the majority of its budget on payroll. Over $875,000 of the city's budget is spent on payroll and out of that $875,000 a majority of it is used to employ police officers ($481,000). The City of Lumberton is spending an exorbitant amount of money and the majority of it is being outsourced to areas outside the city limits. You would be hard-pressed to find five employees on the City of Lumberton's payroll that are natives of Lumberton and make at least $10.00/hour.
Another issue I have with this board is the large amount of grant money that is spent on vendors that are outside the City of Lumberton. There are at least three members on the board that are associated with the LEDC (Lumberton Economic Development Council) and just a few months ago they were campaigning for citizens to "Shop Locally." Well, I suggest they take that train of thought a little further, and "Support Local Contractors." The demolition of the buildings on Main Street is in its final stages and no one from Lumberton is getting any money from the process. The board recently approved an initial payment of $46,000 for the contractor's that will be hauling away the demolished buildings. The City of Lumberton will pay over $96,000 once the project is closed. We have local contractors like Chad Owens of Owens Construction. He's local and he has Mississippi State wide License #16230. By granting the job to a local business man, the City of Lumberton would have shown that they are willing to invest in their own communities. I'm sure Chad would have hired local people to assist with the demolition and that would have been a great boost to our local economy. One day, we'll get a board that actually intersted in doing what's best for the city instead of looking for personal gain. Until then, we'll just have to sit back and ask ourselves, What if?

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 17, 2011 at 3:17 PM

    What if Wednesday is a good idea. What if everyone thought about doing something for the good of it on Wednesdays. What if folks started looking for good things in their town. What if the board/police officers/fire departmet got out and really listen to the citizens. What if we were able to cut down on crime and drugs in the community. What if we were able to put together some programs or activities for the kids and get support from the board/police/firemen/citizens etc. What if's are dreams we need reality and people who want to get things done for our citizens and children. Jonathan, is there a group already in place to oversee things like this in Lumberton or is there a way to start a group for concerned citizen to rally and be proactive in getting some of these things started. I myself would like to know where to go to volunteer or how to get something started in the community so we can try and make a difference in the community.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Lumberton InformerAugust 18, 2011 at 9:30 AM

    The City of Lumberton has a Parks and Recreation Committee, but after being organized, the members have failed to meet. Earlier this year, the board re-appointed the same members on the Parks and Recreation Committee but I still haven't heard of any meetings. I guess they will meet at some point, but for now there's a group in place, but they're not active.

    ReplyDelete

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