More "Free" Government Money!
Category: Local...
Posted Friday, April 21, 2006 at 10:57 AM [GMT-6]

Unlike certain other Midland bloggers, I like the idea of our city having an affordable public transportation system. I wish it was utilized to the extent that it generated revenues that covered operating expenses, but these types of public services can't be realistically viewed as profit-generators.

However, those in charge of the Midland-Odessa Urban Transit District aren't helping their case by saying things like this, found in an article in today's local newspaper reporting on the purchase of bigger and more expensive buses for the system:

I suppose that's technically true in that the city's bank account wasn't tapped for these new buses. But it gives the appearance of overlooking the fact that those dollars do, in fact, come from The City, comprised as it is of all of us individual taxpayers. These buses are not free, in any real sense of the word.

I'm not arguing about whether the expenditures should have been made in the first place, although the timing of the purchase of 5-mpg buses to replace 9-mpg vehicles seems unfortunate, despite the assurances that the TCO is actually favorable. I'd simply advise officials to be more accurate with their pronouncements as to how they're spending our money.