Resident would like single municipal taxing authority on Beach
To the editor:
There has been a nasty controversy going on lately in our little corner of paradise. It concerned the expansion of our local library. There’s been way too many “he-said, she-said” type letters, petitions, and proclamations coming from both sides … most containing an appropriately skewed version of the truth.
Personally, I feel strongly that education is the key to America’s future, and our libraries provide an important adjunct to the education of young and old. But, I also have a gut-feeling that our existing library facility is underutilized, and that e-Books, the Internet and other recent innovations mean that libraries across our nation should be re-evaluating their mission and refocusing their programs. Therefore, I had mixed feelings as the arguments went back-and-forth over the merits and means of expansion.
Recently, the ceremonial “ground-breaking” took place. Now construction is underway. Rather than being a time for recrimination, perhaps we should analyze the situation, look at the issues that we argued about and begin planning for a better town to live in.
So how should we proceed? I suggest we collectively take a deep breath, step back and look at the big picture, and work together to formulate answers to questions such as these.
· If we truly seek “government-lite” why do we have three overlapping governmental taxing authorities that all call themselves Fort Myers Beach (the Town, the Library District, and the Fire District)?
· Why do each of these taxing authorities cover different geographical areas, and are therefore answering to differing constituencies?
· Can we afford, on a continuing basis, the inherent lack of cooperation and duplicative costs of maintaining three “independent” local government entities?
Perhaps, we should be planning for the abolition of all three taxing districts and the incorporation of a single municipal taxing authority responsible for all the functions of the three current districts … in other words a single, more efficient government-lite!
I know, that would involve a long and difficult process, and would require State Legislature approval. But don’t forget, should we ultimately get there, we’d find ourselves with a large, modern and optimally located building that could, perhaps, be “repurposed” to meet future library needs, as well as other municipal priorities. You can’t change history, so perhaps it’s time to be cooperatively planning our future, not incessantly carping about the past.
Vic Berecz
Fort Myers Beach