The Ledger Article dated October 17, 2010

The Ledger Article dated October 17, 2010, Voters Deliver Petition to Dissolve Municipality of Polk-City does not address the fact that the City Council consists of officials elected by the people, to serve the people.  When the council members ran for office, they promised "change" from the previous administration's actions that created a mountain of debt, and did not have any consideration for the average Polk City residents to be able to afford to live here.  The council members that were appointed to the City Council last April promised us that they would listen to the people, and that they would represent them in the choices they make as city council members.

The 2010 Florida Statute 165.051 Dissolution Procedures clearly states that
     (1) The Charter of any municipality may be revoked and the municipal corporation dissolved by either:
           (a) A special act of the Legislature, or
           (b) An ORDINANCE of the governing body of the municipality, approved by a vote of the qualified voters.
     (2) If a vote of the qualified voters is required, the governing body of the municipality or, if the municipal governing body does not act within 30 days, the governing body of the county or counties in which the municipality is located, shall set a date of the election which shall be the next regularly scheduled election or a special election held prior to such election, if approved by a majority of the members of the governing body of each governmental unit affected, but no sooner than 30 days after passage of the ordinance.  Notice of the election shall be published at least once a week for 2 consecutive weeks prior to the election in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality.

On October 12, 2010 the city council was presented with a request, signed by 40% of the registered voters of Polk City, asking the city council to give the voters a chance to vote on whether or not to continue spending money on a future that only promises to create more debt, or to end the debt cycle and dissolve the city.

It is the responsibility of the city council members to give the voters an opportunity to vote on this very important issue if such a large majority of the voters are represented.  It does not require an attorney's advice at $200.00/hour to figure that one out.  As a matter of fact, does it seem constitutional to use the taxpayers of Polk City's own money to pay Attorney Tom Cloud to stop the citizens voices from being heard???

The city council can do the right thing by approving an ORDINANCE to schedule a special election to let the voters of Polk City choose which direction they want to take....a future burdened with endless debt, or put a period behind the present debt, eliminate this extra layer of government, and pay the present debt off in time.

These politicians can exercise their power to be constructive and represent the wishes of the majority of the people who trusted them with that power when they were appointed, or they can take that power and become "dictators to their own cause" at the expense of their constituents.  Sadly, power changes a lot of politicians, no matter at what level of government they serve.  They start tuning out the rest of the world, and dance to their own piper.