Georgetown Plans to Cope with Budget Deficit

Recently, here in Georgetown, KY, it was revealed that the city is facing a 4 million dollar deficit. I wonder, what happened; two years ago, the deficit was only 1.5 million. It has been circulated and otherwise alleged that previous Georgetown  Mayor Everett Varney may have had something to do with the original start point, as the initial deficit occurred under mysterious, “Where’d the money go?” circumstances. But that deficit, while probably criminal in its occurrence, was only two years ago; the City of Georgetown has managed to more than double it in such a short period. This bears investigation, as revenue decrease due to recession cannot tell the whole story. Mismanagement, at the least, must play a factor.

Mismanagement brings me to another related topic, that being the under, make that non-, utilization of the city park at Cardome. The original gifting plan from Toyota was for the city of Georgetown to develop the park on the grounds at Cardome in order to increase city revenues. However, virtually nothing of the sort has been done. Proposed projects included a water park and a skate park and other facilities to bring the city residents closer to one another and closer to the city’s Historic District downtown. At the same time, leases and tax revenues would have been centered on city property, thus realizing greater revenues for the city than would be seen from separate facilities on private property, and helping to offset the maintenance costs associated with Cardome. None of this happened. The parks and other recreational facilities were constructed, usually on private property, with tax incentives for the developers. End result; Cardome drags upon the city budget and city revenues were increased only marginally. This is mismanagement. What should have been a financial boon to the city remains a financial drag.

The enormous budget deficit of the city of Georgetown and the squandering of a potential asset form a bellwether for city management. This bellwether calls into question the leadership and judgment of those making decisions for the city. It also calls into question the ethics of those involved. How does a plan to enrich the city and its residents fall into the hands of private investors with taxpayer funding?

I have not recently been able to closely monitor the activities of city government, and exploring culpability in the city of Georgetown has always been an arduous, time consuming effort at best. Finding out who supported what is only the first step- the why is nearly always every bit as important while much more difficult to determine. But there is a simple answer.

There are plenty of candidates on the ballot for City Council this year; enough, in fact, to entirely replace those currently sitting with new faces. While there may be those who have aligned themselves truly with the interests of Georgetown who would be deposed, it seems that they have failed to make themselves known for opposition to the pillaging of the city budget. Therefore, going on just the surface information as to how the current situation stands, which is about all that most residents will be able to learn, it seems reasonable to replace the Georgetown City Council in its entirety.