Folks are at it again. The "local control" banners, buttons and bumper stickers are being handed out, this time for the proposed city of Mulberry. The referendum bill has passed in the legislature and the governor has signed off, and an interesting city it will be. The city charter is worth a read and in the vein of "there ought to be a law," reading the charter should be required before you're allowed to vote.
There are some key takeaways.
Like Dunwoody, the city tax millage rate is limited by law. Unlike Dunwoody, it is pegged at 0 mills. That's right, ZERO. Can you imagine how our crop of tax-and-spend whiners would squeal with a limit like that? Of course the Mulberrians must be on constant alert as at the first charter "update" some greedy bastard will want to raise that limit if not eliminate it entirely.
Perhaps more interesting is all-things-city-manager is left blank, as in "reserved." Perhaps they are wise enough to avoid a city manager and the inevitable bloated bureaucracy that entails. Maybe they want to ensure a limited time contract, say 3 years, for the city manager. Perhaps they will contract it all out and given it is "city-lite" that may be the plan. Or it may be a sneak attack against trusting Mulberrians. In any event, prudent Mulberrians should ask, and demand, answers to critical questions. Go not blindly into that danger zone.
Worthy of note is that the city will not provide police and fire, keeping these services with the county. Would that we had been so wise. Perhaps the Mulberrians have learned from the huge mistakes made by Dunwoody (can you say "losing court battles?"). But they also need to be on guard against a "developers' authority" and selling your soul to outside grants. That is if they are really committed to local control.
Posts
