LET'S TALK ABOUT THE WATER...

The Town of Palm Beach Medical Commission met yesterday as noted in today's Palm Beach Post. Their subject - what else? - drinking water and their 19-year contract with the City of West Palm Beach. It's a sad day for West Palm Beach, that one must travel to a neighboring town to participate in a discussion as important as drinking water.

Back in West Palm, the public has not heard one word since November regarding the status of repairs, future options or alternatives. Not one word.

At the last WPB City Commission meeting, south end resident Alan Levine requested a historical perspective of the plant’s operation to learn how we got where we are. He also suggested a full financial audit be done to inform the public of the facts regarding cost and future needs.

I will document on this blog how long it takes for his request to be granted. So keep checking back.

What can give us hope is that the City transferred over $3 million dollars back into the Utilities pool for emergency phone services and replacement,repairs and upgrades to the water plant. But the process used to accomplish this is questionable. I am on the record (see page 4) asking that significant budget issues and expenses NOT be moved forward on the Consent Agenda. Money should not be touched without discussion. This kind of maneuvering keeps the public in the dark, not a good place to be considering all of the corruption on the dais. Corruption so deep, a grand jury was seated and two Commissioners went to jail.

Trust must be restored, but not the kind of blind trust this maneuvering requires.
I, for one, want to know where the money's going and why.
And I bet you do, too.

Back to the Palm Beach meeting, the attendees did not include a single seated member from the West Palm Beach dais. Not one commissioner, not the mayor. But two of your candidates were there - myself and Al Vazquez.
The mayor had been invited but she failed to attend.
Why?
What other issue could be more pressing than the safe drinking water of a major metropolitan area like West Palm Beach and it's neighbor Palm Beach?

Again, the Consent Agenda, with no public discussion, is not a safe place to hide what's going to happen next. The public needs this openly discussed, so they can be informed.
The public needs and deserve the power that comes with knowledge.

And there, right there, might be the real purpose the Consent Agenda serves.