Published: August 15, 2009 10:39 pm      

VASICEK: A rough, painful job

A police officer stopped a night driver with an inoperative headlight. After the officer began chatting over the rolled-down window, he noticed a collection of knives in the back seat.

“What are those for?” demanded the policeman.

“Well, I have a knife-juggling act, and those are my knives.”

“I have my doubts,” replied the officer. “Let me see you juggle them.”

The man obliged. He exited his car and began juggling the knives alongside his auto.

Just then, two men drove by. One replied to the other, “I’m glad I gave up drinking. Those sobriety tests are getting rough!”

It’s not only sobriety test that are getting rough – our city’s officials have some humdinger challenges awaiting them. We can label our situation, “monumental.”

The other evening, I was viewing the City Council meeting (recorded from a session in late July) on KGOV-TV. The focus of discussion was our city’s financial crisis. Mike Karickhoff explained our monetary plight with great clarity.

The fact that the “old” Chrysler will not pay approximately $6 million worth of taxes this year – and another $6 million next year – has put the squeeze on our finances. This was money we were depending upon. The Chrysler shortfall is in addition to lost revenues (due to reduced property tax rates) of more than $2 million – and a lower-than-anticipated collection rate of residential property taxes.

The implications of this shortfall are sobering: Our city no longer has the money we thought we had. Drastically reducing city payrolls and expenditures means real human beings (and their families) will suffer the painful consequences. Being laid off in Kokomo (we recently led the nation in unemployment and have been labeled as “America’s fastest dying city”) is no pipe dream. Even “McJobs” are scarce.

I do not think our elected officials ran for office expecting to don a black cape and top hat, sport a handlebar mustache, and play the role of the villain landlord – evicting poor Nell and her widow mother. Making cuts to city expenditures is a comparable dirty job – yet someone has to do it. And (no matter what our leaders decide), many of us will question whether they made the appropriate cuts. Especially if they hit close to home.

Even if the city borrows money from the state, that money will have to be repaid by making future financial slashes. A loan will not be adequate to maintain the status quo, even in the short term. Our city leaders do not have a solitary good choice; they are scurrying about, seeking the “least worst” choice. It’s not about the greatest good, but the least bad. But everything is not bad.

We can strain beyond the gloom to view some positives about our long-term future. First, our mayor and our council seem to be working together for the common good of our community. Ego and partisanship tend to “check out” when serious problems “check in.” Such teamwork bodes well for our future. If our city is to prosper, we need to maintain a united team.

Second, Chrysler has survived as a new corporation in alliance with Fiat. The long-term future could be much brighter on the Chrysler front. In a couple of years, tax money could roll in.

Third, $89 million in stimulus are destined for local Delphi operations. If Delphi is successful in developing electric-car technology, Kokomo’s best days will probably be ahead!

Fourth, the City of Firsts offers a quality of life that is to be reckoned with. Community events, pretty streets, bountiful parks and a strong commitment to develop our economic base give Kokomo a competitive edge.

Fifth, if annexation attempts are successful, Kokomo could improve its tax base and lessen reductions of city employees. I am neither endorsing nor opposing annexation in this article, just commenting on its potential effect upon Kokomo.

People of faith need to remember our mayor and our council members in our prayers. All of us need to consider what it would be like to be in their shoes. Times are rough.

• Ed Vasicek is pastor of Highland Park Church and a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune.