letter to L-T editor

Dear Editor:

In response to your editorial on Sunday, March 2 (“Jail Foes’ Protests Too Late To Matter”), apparently you have accepted the County Board’s version of what happened without checking with the citizens themselves. I was present at one of the first “community meetings” to which the proponents of the jail expansion are referring. That meeting was not held for the purpose of informing citizens and seeking their input. Mr. Draxler and Mr. Willett showed the group a set of optional plans and told us what was planned. I had to ask three times if the decision had already been made to build this jail expansion. Finally, when I demanded a “Yes” or a “No” answer, we were told that the decision had already been made, that there was nothing that could be done about that, and that we would have our opportunity to address our concerns at a later date. Very strong objections to the plan were raised by many persons at this meeting. To my knowledge, these objections were never recorded or passed back to the County Board, nor was there ever a “later date” at which we could raise these objections. In this whole process we have been told three or four times that any objections we wanted to raise were too early in the process and that they should be raised later; later never came. Each time, we were simply told it was too late. Did they even record the objections? This whole process has been staff-driven, and the staff have managed to avoid a full disclosure to the taxpayers while giving the impression that taxpayers had had the opportunity for objections all through the process and that those who did object and who object now are just a bunch of malcontents who do not express the opinion of the taxpayers. Where in this process were the taxpayers of Eau Claire County informed regarding the means to pay for this expansion? The County Board voted to raise the property tax levy by 15% and to spend a very large chunk of our property tax money, for the next ten to thirty years, without citizen input on that matter. The $59.1 million is just the beginning. The total cost, just to service that debt, will be $92 million. That will not include the full cost of equipping the buildings. And how will we pay for the 30 new staff for the jail?

Although a referendum is not required, because the approved amount is below the level which would require a referendum, a motion for a voluntary referendum was defeated by the County Board. There is no wish to provide a full disclosure to the voters or to present the whole case to the persons who are paying for it.. My strongest objections are to the lack of transparency on this matter and to the County Board’s disregard for any other factors than what the proponents of this jail want. I dislike deception; I dislike gross manipulation; and I dislike being treated with disdain as a voter and a taxpayer. By the way, it is not too late to object. The County Board still has the opportunity to alter the plans and truly involve taxpayers in the process.

Nick Smiar