By Christin Rzasa, Stevensville
I have great sympathy for the folks who are trying to accomplish the town’s business–Mayor Dewey and Police Chief Marble–while having to deal with the juvenile antics of Stevensville Town Council President Bob Michalson and his gang, whose noses are out of joint because the Stevensville voters didn’t elect their candidate (no doubt the Mexican drug cartel had something to do with that).
According to the minutes of the most recent Council meeting, the Council had just heard from a concerned private citizen, Cathi Cook, who offered a donation from her own personal funds to replace vandalized soccer nets at Lewis and Clark Park, an offer which council members leapt to secure (even though sufficient moneys were available from the town’s pool fund, according to Council member Ray Smith).
This offer came amid discussion of rising episodes of vandalism in the park, later confirmed by beleaguered Chief of Police Marble–apparently the only person standing between the good townsfolk of Stevensville and Mexican drug cartels. In several recent Council meetings, Chief Marble has enumerated patiently how his department is woefully under-funded and under-staffed, information which Michalson and his cronies have pointedly ignored.
Then–with the very next order of business–the Council voted to buy themselves each a brand new laptop.
Wow. Either their chutzpah knows no bounds or they have no grasp of what a “budget” is for. It’s ironic that the amount of money they’ll probably spend on these new laptops is about what it will cost to replace the soccer nets. (Thanks, Cathi!)
I’d like a new laptop, too. The one I have is a few years old, so ancient by today’s standards, but there are greater priorities that currently usurp the bulk of my budgeted funds. I have a set amount of money available to spend and basic needs to be fulfilled with that money. A city has pretty much the same situation: so much money coming in, a list of “basic needs” to be paid for.
Most people would agree that one of the biggest “needs” of any town is an adequate police force, one that can protect the people who live in the town and the businesses located there (who, by the way, provide the money for the budget required to keep the town functioning). Buying new toys for the folks who presume to be in charge of the town’s business is NOT a “basic need.”
I would think that the good people who live in Stevensville would prioritize law enforcement and personal safety over the ability of Town Council members to play solitaire and surf the net during Council meetings, during which they’ve so far steadfastly refused to actually accomplish ANYTHING of benefit to the town, instead behaving like out-of-control sixth graders shooting spit-wads and throwing paper balls at their teacher.
I have a friend in Alabama who never misses an issue of the Bitterroot Star, in part because of the reports on Town Council meetings. “HILARIOUS!!” he writes. “Can’t wait for the next installment!!”
While I don’t live within the town limits (and therefore didn’t even vote for these folks), I do shop and bank in Stevensville and consider it my “home town,” and frankly, this Town Council is an utter embarrassment. Michalson and his fellow Council members have their egos so inflated by their “Council member” titles, they’ve lost all perspective on the function of a Town Council.
To the Michalson Gang: your buddy didn’t win the election for mayor–GET OVER IT, and start working for the good of the town!!