Fairness vs. favors

GroveAtopia's governing body is currently wrestling with an interesting issue.  It has to do with deferring interest on certain building fees.  The fees are called SDCs.  That stands for system development charges.  These fees are paid by builders of new construction and are meant to help offset the long-term costs that each new construction project adds to the city's public works.   

Apparently some builders want to start construction projects but they just can't quite pull it off financially.  If only they did not have to pay the interest on the SDCs for awhile, they would be able to begin their projects thereby providing employment to some dozens of people. Maybe it's only one dozen.  Maybe it's even less.  That part is unclear.

So they asked the city council (GroveAtopia thinks they asked the mayor himself) if we could do like Springfield has done and defer interest on SDCs until the new construction project is actually sold.   I think that means these construction projects are being built on spec.  There are no buyers yet, but the builders hope there will be.

Someone thought this was such a pressing issue that the council was told it was an emergency. Yikes!  

Calling the situation an emergency means the usual process can be condensed and the council may propose, consider, pass and enact the whole ordinance immediately.  The catch is that it requires a unanimous vote.

Now anyone who has been watching the city council knows they generally vote as a block.  All except one councilor, who, unlike the others asks questions and does independent research beyond what is handed to the council by the city manager.  Seems like a reasonable approach for any councilor to take, but it turns out here in GroveAtopia, an independent thinking councilor is not only unusual, it is downright fearsome.   

All manner of attempts have been made to silence this councilor.  Name calling, arm waving, eye rolling and general agitation and annoyance and sometimes even yelling are the usual responses.  

This is not how GroveAtopia wants to be governed. 

We want open discourse that encourages different points of view.  We want our councilors to raise questions, to probe, and not automatically accept proposals that are brought before them. We want them to be accountable to the voters and always ask if what they are considering is in the best interest of all their constituents, not just the ones they know.

The SDC proposal struck GroveAtopia as more favor than fairness.  Why should the builders be the only ones whose fees are deferred?   Has the prospect of other fees being deferred been raised? Exactly how many jobs will be created?  What criteria compels us to consider this is an emergency?  Should builders for whom this small amount of money is all that stands between them and their projects really be building at all?  

Can we at least discuss this?

No we may not.  

Instead we will rant and rave, steam and blame because someone dared to ask questions.  Dared to suggest fairness.  And this time, that someone's single vote was enough to stop to the whole idea.

Even in the aftermath, GroveAtopia has not behaved well.  This could be the time when we seek to understand and work to find a mutually agreeable solution that works for everyone. Instead the bad behavior is continuing.   Even on the radio.

How sad.  

Because we know GroveAtopia is better than that.