n Misspent Public Money
Dear Editor,
If we invest in our Morgan Hill youth and facilitate them to learn to play and work together, then they together will be our good future.
I guess that we, the people of Morgan Hill, are proud to see that our public funding is being used to help support some of the most worthy causes: at least seven liquor bars and a tobacco shop. We have, through our elected officials, decided to contribute $95,000 to the Morgan Hill Downtown Association and $50,000 to the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce.
I have tended to believe that our tax dollars are collected to promote public services that private businesses cannot effectively provide. We take great pride in our free enterprise system that allows individuals to invest their own money and talent for an opportunity to make a profit.
I believe that the business owners of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association would not want the city of Morgan Hill collecting taxes from them and then giving this money to help other merchants compete with their businesses. I cannot believe that even one of these free enterprise merchants would want the city to give them money that could be spent on a youth center, a recreation center, or a park.
I read that the city cannot afford to maintain the parks (a truly public service). I even read that public money was used to construct and is being used to operate a very large dog park.
We used a lot of public money to build a Community Recreation Center for the youth. Then, without great public discussion, the building was contracted out to the Young Men’s Christian Association. From my observation, the public building is being operated as a commercial athletic center and not as a Community Recreation Center. The difference is determined by the equipment and the charge to be a “member of the YMCA.”
I read in the Morgan Hill Times that our city does not have enough money to fund the El Toro Youth Center and has decided to give it to the Catholic Charities. Something was said in the newspaper about the Catholic Charities wanting to establish a presence here in our city. The article didn’t say what was meant by a presence. But here it states that the mayor is looking to get another religious organization to operate another public social program using a city building.
Why are we (you and me) using our public money to support liquor and tobacco establishments while eliminating youth centers, recreation centers, and public parks? Why are we using our public money to support some of Morgan Hill’s wonderful small businesses while not giving similar money to all the other small businesses? Why are we building, with tax dollars large facilities to be operated by non-taxpaying religious organizations? Why are we financing non-profits to compete with our cities other taxpaying businesses? Why are we (you and me) using our public money to support religious organizations in conflict with our community agreements to separate church and state? Why are we using our public money to support private/commercial organizations in conflict with our agreements to treat all equal and to use public money only for public purposes?
Why are we not providing for all our city’s young people – the rich and the poor? It is not a matter of money it is a matter of choices.
Staten Johnston, Morgan Hill
