GUEST COMMENTARY/BY BEA GARDNER

Glenn Heran recently stated in his Taxpayers Newsletter that taxpayers are not customers and we are not here to provide government with a profit.

Mr.Heran, Are you saying government should expect taxpayers to make sure they do NOT keep their local government in the black? If that is the case, then what I am hearing from you is….you would like to see our local government fail because they are too big. And, it appears from all I hear from you and your cronies, that you think the “government” of Vero Beach is too big.

I believe your mantra about doing away with big government is barking up the wrong tree on a local basis. You need to take your preaching on up the ladder to the Federal Government, Mr.Heran, and let Vero be Vero just as Councilman Richard Winger has suggested.

With all the cuts that our local governments have made these past few years because of the downturn in our local economy, you, of all people, should be able to recognize that Vero Beach and Indian River County politicians have done their share of cutting. If you have not recognized this fact, then I would say you have not been paying attention.  Our local governments have been cut to bare bones with regards to services such as Recreation and Police. I think Councilman Winger was trying to say that there might be some room to cut at the administrative level.

Yes, Councilman Winger did state that government should be run like a business, so let me ask you a question Mr. Heran.  What business do you know that would sell its products at a loss? It is beginning to look like you and your cronies who favor a sale of the Vero Electric Utility at any cost are doing just that. You would sell the Electric Utility at a loss just to have your way and when and if that happens the city of Vero Beach will not have enough money to chug along as they have been doing.

Vero will no longer be the Vero that we all know and love if you and your “limited government” crowd have your say the city of Vero Beach will no longer exist and you can be on the way to a much more bloated County Government when they have to take up the slack.

Mr. Heran, I believe it is you, not Winger who is sorely mistaken when you say government should not be run like a business. You stated in the Taxpayers Newsletter that “taxpayers are not customers and we are not here to provide government with a profit.”

Talk like this is why you have been nicknamed the Red Herring on Bea-isms because you are always throwing out a red herring on all kinds of issues.

So, Mr. Red Herring, it seems your intention is to do away with “big government” in little old Vero Beach.  A lot of us living here think Vero Beach is really a perfect example of what life has been like living in a small town, a town who showed us that they were capable of sustaining themselves over the years because they had an enterprise fund such as the electric utility. The only thing I can fault them for is not raising taxes in order to keep their electric rates lower. Then there would be no reason to sell the profitable utility.

Having said all of this, I have to keep reminding myself that when the debate of wheather to sell the Electric Utility or not to sell first started, Vero Beach Electric Utility rates where the fifth lowest utility in the State. It was at that time that previous councils should have started to raise taxes on its residents rather than raise utility rates on its customers, meaning city and county customers.

Yes, you might be getting rid of the “big government of Vero Beach” by selling off the electric utility and doing away with all of the utility department workers but it seems that there is going to be a big price to pay, as evidenced by all the cuts being asked for in the budget while anticipating life without the money earned from the electric utility.

I wish a partial sale could have been considered but after the fact, that is nothing more than wishful thinking on my part.  If that could have been the case – a partial sale – County residents who are on City Electric could shed their mantra of “taxation without representation” with regards to Vero Electric Utility and let them see how much representation they will have with regards to rates once they are in the service of FPL.

Again, I agree with Councilman Winger, let’s let Vero be Vero and stop this nonsense….at least until such time that we have to rip the City apart when a sale really does takes place, if indeed that ever happens.

Maybe The Red Herring and his cronies should move to Miami-Dade or Jacksonville, two areas where they could live under more efficient and “smaller combined City/County Governments”. Just saying.