Published: January 27, 2008 05:10 pm            

Letters to the editor - Monday, Jan. 28, 2008

Make a difference in a child’s life

Seeing that Christmas has come and gone so fast that you barely had time to think, let’s take a little time and think of the unfortunate children in our area.

Even in our county, there are lots of children that had no food or Christmas presents this past year. Imagine a little girl out in the cold, shivering because she has no coat, shoes or gloves, the tummy growling for food and feeling sad and lonely since no one cares about her.

If you are tired of all the clutter in your closet or don’t know what to do with the old stuff, don’t just throw it away. Give it to someone who could use it or want it. By doing this, you get rid of the clutter and help someone in need.

Every little gift you give freely, you will be blessed and you will receive more than what you gave in another way you aren’t expecting. One way that you can make a difference for these children is donate money or items to the Salvation Army or Kokomo Rescue Mission. (Salvation Army located at 615 N. Washington, phone 452-2348 or Kokomo Rescue Mission located at 321 W. Mulberry, phone 456-3838.) They will send it on to a child in need.

Kayla Gingerich

Kokomo

Payment to EDC is being withheld

It has been brought to my attention that in the year 2007, the director of the Tipton County Economic Development Corp. sent letters by way of electronic mail to a select group of EDC members that attacked the integrity of an elected official.

The content of these communications contained baseless accusations, insinuations of improprieties and ridiculing remarks.

Tipton city and county tax dollars totaling $115,000 are currently being requested by the EDC board of directors to support the office operating expenses of the EDC, which includes $104,000 in salaries and benefits for two staff positions. The conduct referenced in the opening statement by a person whose position is funded by public dollars should not and will not be tolerated by my administration, nor should it have been tolerated by members of the TCEDC board of directors.

The TCEDC was established as a public/private partnership designed to promote economic development for all of Tipton County. Its original goal was to become self-sustaining, but after 20 years of existence, it remains an organization heavily dependent upon support from tax monies. It is my firm belief that public financial support of this partnership should be directly proportionate to the representation of its membership.

Currently there is a huge disparity existing between the ratios of the amount of tax dollars to the number of elected officials on the board. Approximately 80 percent of the 2008 budget is reliant upon economic development income tax money, yet just 18 percent of the board of directors and the emeritus board consist of individuals elected by the citizens. The public/private partnership membership does not match its revenue source. Instead, it appears to be a private power structure. During my term, I will be committed to finding ways to save money and scale back on spending. This can be accomplished by evaluating all of our existing service contracts and also by combining positions that perform similar duties. In the 20 years since the TCEDC has provided its service to Tipton County, more than $1.6 million of tax money collected from the residents of Tipton city and county has been given to this organization, and I believe the monetary support for this service needs to be assessed and justified.

I am holding the city’s portion of the EDC’s $50,000 request for funding and intend to discuss with the TCEDC board my concerns regarding the actions of the director and the need for an immediate restructuring of the membership.

I am also seeking to obtain a list of measurable services they would be able to provide in 2008 that would meet my expectation for an expenditure of $50,000 from the citizens of the city of Tipton.

Dan Delph

Tipton mayor

        

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