In a letter to the editor in the Oct. 7 edition of the Enterprise, it was suggested that the current Park Rapids City Council has neglected the basics (such as public safety) and focused too heavily on new buildings and bushes.
For the record, in 2006, the city has allocated 42.2 percent of our General Fund budget toward public safety (police, fire, inspections) and is proposing to increase that amount to 44.05 percent in the 2007 budget. In fact, public safety spending is the fastest growing segment of the city's budget. Since 2002, the fire department's budget has increased 68 percent, police has increased 46.9 percent and police liaison (school officer) has increased 25.3 percent, while other city departments have seen single digit growth to some departments actually having less to spend in 2007 versus 2002.
In this same time period, the city has added two additional full time police officers to the department and also added a full time investigator position.
As for the reference to placing high priority on such things as a "new cultural center, new library, new parks and recreation and beautification," these projects were derived from a strategic planning session held by this council in May of this year. These projects were identified to enable our community to move forward with a vision for a better Park Rapids.
It is the responsibility of the city council to not only look at the immediate needs of our residents (for example public safety, public works, etc.) but to look to the future. This is where these priorities fit into our strategic plan for the future of Park Rapids.
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Mayor Ted Godfrey and councilmembers Nancy Carroll, Gene Kinkel, Nancy Tague and Clyde Zirkle
