Volusia County Council,
123 W. Indiana Ave.,
DeLand, FLA 32720.
Chairman and Members:
A friend recently asked me ‘‘Why do the taxpayers have to pay for the County Council’s lunches when they are working?’’
That seemed a simple enough question to answer. ‘‘Because, if we weren’t working, we couldn’t pay our taxes to feed the County Council.’’
Well, I seem to have mis-interpreted the question. ‘‘No, why do the taxpayers pay to feed the County Council?’’
This led to two possible answers, and since I was off duty anyway, I determined to consider them both. It was possible, I allowed, that the County Council figures that we taxpayers are already in the habit of buying lunch, since we have to pay for our own. However, it was also possible that the County Council was just to cheap to buy their own lunch.
Either way, it sends a horrible message. The County Council is sponging off the public because they think we’re in the habit of being suckers, or, in the alternative, the County Council would rather live it up on the public purse.
Either possibility forces us to consider that the County Council is not careful with the public money. If you can’t be trusted with the small things, should we trust you at all?
I am prompted to ask this because today I paid the quarterly installments on my property taxes for my non-revenue properties. I have a lot of jobs I have promised for ‘‘the day after taxes come down.’’ It looks as though you all are going to protect me from having to do that work.
At the same time, your budget answers the question of whether you can be trusted with the big things. Your records will show tens of millions of dollars in specifically identified (by budget page and line) waste, fraud, and abuse. Can we trust you to do the right thing?
Sincerely,
Tanner Andrews
PS: This letter is also available on the web:
Posting of this letter is a paid political advertisement provided by Tanner Andrews, P.O. Box 1208, DeLand 32721, independent of any campaign or committee. No candidate has approved this material.