Column for March 5, 2009

Here is your chance to sound off or get involved in your town

I wrote recently that "Selma is a great town but…" seems to be a familiar phrase I hear. I had one email conversation recently in which I was asked for a list of things I felt needed attention or were problematic.

I figure that it is time that we hear from some of our citizens as to their concerns here in town. I strongly encourage each of you to write the newspaper and take advantage of the "letters to the editor" section and express your thoughts, complaints, compliments, problems, suggestions, and desires for your home town.

For the sake of brevity, I will share just some of my own recent list.

1. Selma leadership seems fixated on expanding the town through forced annexation rather than attracting people to move and/or build here. Forced annexation is unethical, it is confiscatory in nature, and past efforts have been expensive as well as illegal.

2. The town neglects some simple and inexpensive things that will enhance its image such as fresh paint on flag poles, no parking zones on curbs, town facilities, and the like. Not all improvements are expensive. Let's take care of the little things we can do on the cheap before pursuing dreams of grandeur.

3. Almost three years ago, the town worried about liability over a free standing water tower that was abandoned and left alone for years but ignores the broken, uneven sidewalks that are used every day. Common walking surfaces are a much greater liability risk. Why strain at a gnat and swallow a camel?

4. We have sewer lines that are 100 years old and in disrepair and yet the town seems to want to add more area to the town that will require additional infrastructure including water and sewer lines. Why seek to add area to the town and yet ignore the upkeep of existing infrastructure?

5. The town attempts to exert undue influence on people who live in the ETJ, outside the city limits. I have written on this extensively.

6. We have over 60% renters in the town. That leaves the primary property tax bill on absentee landlords who do not care about the town in which their properties are located. A minority of citizens actually own property, live here, and have a stake in the town. This leads to little pride in the town and attracts a low quality of citizenry. Though this was addressed in the Strategic Plan, I am not convinced that the action of outlawing duplexes that limits freedom and ran contrary to the Planning Board's wishes was the best method of stemming the tide of rentals.

7. By and large, the town council and mayor disregard what the citizens express at public hearings or what may have been recommended by citizen advisory boards, and have even been openly critical of those opinions. This does not instill the desire for serving the community or to get involved with one's town. I will say that Councilman Eric Sellers, in general, is courteous enough to read and respond to emails. Thank you, Mr. Sellers. I believe in contacting my elected officials.

8. I have witnessed bullying and intimidation tactics employed on council members and on citizens, which is just unacceptable behavior. I have also witnessed pontification of one thing at town council meetings and then a pontiff's turn around vote for exactly the opposite.

9. Selma is full of illegal aliens. At town hall, employees must cater to those who are here illegally and/or do not speak the common language of the land. Failure to discourage immigrants from moving here results in low quality renters and neighborhoods, raises our crime rates, costs money for the time and materials in two languages, and just plain needs to stop with the drain on our budget. This problem is even greater at higher levels of government and affects our taxes, our education system, our health care system, and our culture. If we had sufficient resolve even at the town level, we could make a difference in this problem.

These are just some of the items I shared, but with a little sanitizing of content for public consumption and space constraints. What would be in your list? Write the newspaper and let the town know. Get involved. Speak out. Exercise your freedoms. Here is my one suggestion in pondering your items. Be prepared to offer items for which you believe there to be a viable solution.