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Show Millions being spent, but public input down Once again the budgeting process for Iron County, Cedar City and the Iron County School District is pretty much completed, and once again the officials charged with spending our money had to undertake the project with very little public input. What a shame. Over the past few years, we have sat in a number of budget hearings, hearings where millions of dollars are budgeted to specific items and programs, and we have yet to see more than a few people in attendance at any one. Instead, the money will be spent differently than some would like. Taxes will be higher than some would like. And nearly everyone will complain after the fact. But there is something we all could have done. We could have attended the hearings, seen how decisions were reached, given our input and understood un-derstood the process a bit better. Whether or not the budget could have been changed to a major extent is certainly open for question, but at least, if more people had attended, more people would have understood the restraints our elected officials are working under, the . problems they must work around. We have heard city councilmen, school board members and county commissioners express several times that they are certainly open for suggestions and comments. Yet, they constantly look across a sea of empty chairs when it comes time to set the budgets, perhaps the most important decisions of the year. So, if you don't like the way the budget was set, the' things your money is being spent on or the rate of taxing in the various government entities, and if you didn't express an opinion before the fact we ..wonder if anyone really has any valid complaints. . And if you don't like the way things are this year, we hope you will attend next year. The budget . hearings will be well announced again, the process will be pretty much the same again, and the elected officials, we are sure, will appreciate suggestions oh h how to spend the money. So, next time, don't sit back and complain unless you have tried to do something to solve the problem. Afterall, it's your money. |