MONEY OR LOGIC?
By Greg Swank 07/05/03
During the
I made the following statement: If there was no grant money
attached to this law he would not be here (pointing to Jeff Schuler –
Mr. Schuler responded: That isn’t true. We were working on developing Comprehensive Planning before the grant money, I don’t know where you get your information.
Now, lets just think about what is going on here for a moment because we keep hearing that the benefits for staying in the planning process would save money and the fear of not staying in would:
Cost the towns between $5,000 and $30,000 to hire a consulting firm.
But let’s look deeper into this “money” issue and draw some logical conclusions.
First of all, let us always remember that the county planners are “county servants.” Up until this law was passed if you, as a town, or village wanted to modify, adjust, amend, or adopt a different “plan” for your local governmental unit, or you wanted to change your ordinances, you would call on those same planners for assistance.
If for example, you needed or wanted mapping done, you would more than likely pay for the maps (especially for custom maps). You WOULD NOT, however, PAY for the services of these taxpayer funded planners. It IS their job to assist you in your development plans or anything else you wish of their services. They do not send you a bill because they spent 50 hours helping you with questions.
Now, return to Mr. Schuler’s comment: “That isn’t true. We were working on developing Comprehensive Planning BEFORE the grant money.”
Can we draw any logical conclusions here? What I am hearing Mr. Schuler say is: even without grant funding we were preparing to deal with Comprehensive Planning. Does this seem accurate to you? Am I off base on this assumption? I don’t think so.
So now, we can make the claim that IT IS ABOUT THE MONEY. Remember, you are being told how “expensive” it would be IF YOU DID IT YOURSELF. Perhaps a little scare tactics at times of economic hardships.
Here is the conclusion. If there was never any grant money attached to this and, like Mr. Schuler stated, they would work on Comprehensive Planning anyway, then that would mean they would have provided the exact same services to your community as they have in the past. Which means, you pay nothing except for perhaps a map or two and maybe some printing. You would not receive a BILL from the planners.
Now, let’s look at the grant funding. The county applies for the grant money using your community as participants in the plan. Based on how many communities they get to sign up, depends on how much grant money THEY receive. Do YOU ever see any of that grant money? NO! As a matter of fact, because the grant funding REQUIRES matching funds you are more than likely responsible for putting more of YOUR money back into the pot. Often, depending on the size of your community, this amount can be thousands of dollars.
What does the County do with the grant money? Many county planners spend money “setting up” shop. They hire more staff, get new computers, purchase upgraded software, purchase mapping software, printers, ink, paper, etcetera. Why? Because they are now locked into a three year completion date and they justify these expenses to complete the planning in accordance to the CONTRACT they signed with the state to do so. By the way, did you ever see the grant application or the contract you signed on to, to make this all happen?
Think about the motivation here for a minute. The county planners end up using you as participants in “grant funding” to lock themselves into a state CONTRACT, which puts time limits on when “the plans” must be completed. By doing so, they use “your money” to build their departments and provide for future job security. By the way, according to the grant application, if the counties do a good job they will be eligible for future grant funding as well. (Hmmmmm!)
Now, without the grant money as a “carrot” for planners, the law says YOU have until 2010 to complete YOUR plan. Additionally, the planners are “paid servants” of the county and MUST assist you with your planning when YOU want them to. It’s THEIR JOB.
The only thing missing from this picture is the CONSULTANTS.
Why does a town, or village NEED consultants? (who
are usually people who have been involved in planning) Did YOU or YOUR TOWN
ever spend thousands of dollars to bring in consultants to help you with ANY
plan or ordinance in the past? The planners will tell you it is expensive because
you will need to hire consultants if you go it alone. I don’t believe the
I would suggest before going any further you seek a “LAWYER”
such as Rich Weber out of