Is it Not Time to Reimagine Government?
The recent controversy around 15th Street has encouraged me to run for the Washington City Council. The NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) owns several roads in town, and one of them is 15th Street. Basically, they can pretty much do with it what they please, and currently, they want to turn it into a thoroughfare with a median primarily so that traffic can more expeditiously get from one side of town to the other. They've been itching to do something like this for years, but at each juncture the citizens of town reject their ideas. It's not that we don't want improvements and safety, we most certainly do. We do not want 15th Street converted into Highway 264. We don't want 15th Street converted into a Washington bypass that runs straight through the heart of Washington!
I've spoken with the citizens around town it seems that nine out of ten are opposed to the project, and yet most of the city officials support it. My first instinct was that there must be corruption surrounding the deal. Someone's pocket must be getting lined. I investigated further and a far less sinister and more practical picture emerged. NCDOT has agreed to update the water, sewer, and electrical lines on 15th street and the cost of these updates is so fantastic that it is hard to turn away, even if it means accepting a less-than-ideal road design. The costs of the sewer updates alone would likely exceed all the property taxes collected for five or six years. Investigating this process has been enlightening. Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, how do political principles come to play in local politics? Major political questions aren't decided at this level; only small-town budgetary questions are.
This naturally compels the question, how does a small-town budget work anyway? The concerns over 15th Street took me down many rabbit holes. The elected officials who represent the citizens, the Mayor and City Council members, don't really have all that much authority. This is good, because they don't have all that much knowledge either. This isn't a slight. If you were elected as Mayor today, would you know what to do tomorrow morning? By the time the elected officials begin to understand their jobs there is a good chance they'll be voted out of office and replaced with someone new and equally green. All democracies face this problem, whether it's Washington NC or Washington DC. They all get around it the same way, too.
15th Street Reimagined: Above. Are we dreaming big enough?: Above.
In a council-manager form of government, the city manager is often the point contact for for the public. Technically, the city council is the city manager's boss, but this is a case where the employee knows how to do the job and the boss doesn't! I met with our city manager, Jonathan Russell, who has been behind the scenes getting things done for years. He understands how much public funding is supplied through property tax and sales tax. He knows what we have control over and what we don't, like this NCDOT project.
I'm a bit of a dreamer. I wouldn't want Johnathan's job. It's too complicated. But the job of a city councilman seems okay. They get to dream up ideas and then pass them off to Jonathan to turn into reality. For example, did you know that there are grants that exist to update downtown buildings. If you own a building downtown, you're likely eligible for a grant that the State of NC will give you to renovate the upper floors and turn into high-end condos. The city of Washington would have to fill out the grant for you to get it, but it would likely benefit all parties involved. Maybe we could convert all of that empty building space along the waterfront into beautiful condos and it wouldn't cost anyone a dime! That's a good dream.
The State and federal government offer up to $25,000 for first time home-buyers as well as 100% financing. If you buy a home you can get the home for nothing down, 100% financing, and a $25,000 check sent to you in the mail! Do our citizens know this? There are grants that encourage businesses to move to town. If a business moves to town and would bring jobs, the grant would pay to have some of the powerlines updated. Thales Academy is a private school that focuses on providing a classical education at prices the average household can afford. Inviting Thales Academy to come to town would simultaneously bring high-end jobs to teachers, an inexpensive classical education option for our students, and the State would update our aging electrical system at no cost to the citizens of Washington. Should we look into this?
Improving Education the Classical Way. Now, that's deaming: Above.
Is it possible to have all fiber optic-cable running throughout town to speed up our internet so that high-end work-from-home tech jobs would be available to Washington residents? Wilson did this and half a dozen major companies moved to town bringing over a thousand high-paying jobs.
Could we improve education by inspiration? Perhaps we could invite the few billionaires and famous athletes in our area to come talk to the students in our schools? Isn't it important for them to know what the world might offer? They don't have to grow up to be day-laborers and they don't need to leave to become rich businessmen. The world is their oyster! Could we invite Jimmy Donaldson, Garrett Blackwelder, or Bam Adebayo to inspire them? They will never do more than they dream, so let's help them dream big!
Let's make sure Beaufort County Community College has programs that help our kids get into the most cutting-edge fields. Maybe we can establish relationships with every company on the Fortune 500 list and BCCC can become a talent pool for the world. Did our residents even know that BCCC and the programs they offer are free to them?
Neptune on the Pamlico. Are we dreaming big enough?: Above.
There are grants and foundations that would pay for us to build monuments. Could we build a colossal Neptune in the sound that would be international tourist attractions? How amazing would it be to have a 100-foot Neptune aiming his spear into the water behind tourist pictures all over the world? Every visitor to the US would want to come to little Washington to get their picture with Neptune on the Pamlico! Washington would be flooded with tourist money, but we'd retain our small size and small-town feel. Is this possible? Poor Johnathan, he'd be chasing many, many dreams if I were on the City Council.
What about the poor folks in town? We have large swaths of town that are in subsidized houses. They don't pay much in rent and the city pays a small fortune in upkeep. Are we really helping them out of poverty? Those neighborhoods are rife with crime. Why give them housing? Is it possible to give them the house!? Yes, let's give them the whole house! They live there anyway. Why build it and then have them pay a small fee to be a tenant. This keeps them poor and makes the city a slumlord. That doesn't seem right. Give the tenants the homes! If they own the homes they would be on their way out of poverty and the city wouldn't be on the hook for ongoing upkeep. Why almost help poor folks? Let's really help them! Perhaps I dream too big.
