During the past several months the tone of some citizens and members of the press have become ever more accusatory toward City Council members and City staff.  This concerns me deeply.  As a City Councilor I take my responsibilities as a representative of you the residents very seriously.  I do this job because I believe that we all have a responsibility to return to our community in whatever way we can.  Quite some time ago I personally chose not to accept the City stipend of $100 a month paid to Councilors, at that time I felt that since we were asking staff to tighten their belts I did not feel that I could accept even this small payment.  Recently I have had my integrity and honesty questioned by some citizens and members of the press.  I want to assure each and everyone of you that I have always been honest and forthright in my dealings as a City Councilor.

I do not oppose public discourse about issues of city governance.  What I do object to are accusations from extremely narrow minded and ill informed citizens who have never made an effort to be involved in any type of community service or involved in any committee or activity of the City, addressing the Council as self appointed spokesman for issues that they know little or nothing about and have made no effort to find out. 

We in this City are lucky to have an extremely devoted and conscientious staff, from the City Manager on down these folks work tirelessly to prepare reports and information about activities of importance in their departments and to make sure that information is shared with the City Council.  Every month I receive numerous memos, reports and studies that pertain to issues that will be coming before City Council for action.  Our staff, whether departments heads or department workers work hard to keep our City safe and clean, our parks green and bright, our utilities performing at peak efficiencies and our community growing responsibly.  This is a great place to live and I’m proud to be part of this City.

I would encourage you all to become more involved in the community whether it be through citizen committees that serve the City, membership in service clubs such as Altrusa, Rotary, Kiwanis, the Chamber of Commerce or other opportunities.  Get involved, get informed and together we can continue to see this community grow and prosper.  There is a big difference between a positive attitude and just an attitude!

I welcome your constructive comments, whether you agree or disagree, let’s communicate about what you feel are your issues of concern about our City. 

Joe Harn
City Councilor at Large