Government as a Service Monopoly

Intelligent City Council Debate Questions: What does a City need to do ?

Government is a service monopoly.  Do discharge their duties correctly, local government officials should be careful to not overstep their role as service monopoly managers.

Our charter should be limited to what our customers need.

We are tasked with road and storm sewer maintenance that should require most of our revenue. We have a business need to maintain these structures according to a schedule to avoid unnecessary costs like having to replace road beds and repair sink holes.

What our customers want should be filled by private businesses.

Our expenditures should be proportioned to customer demand and utilization

We need to zone to allow for employment and services that fit our residents’ needs. 

We need to limit density to avoid chronic traffic congestion.

We need no service interruptions, exceptional maintenance and reasonable cost.

We need a good processes and a good website with easy to find answers

We need minimal ordinances that are necessary and easy to understand.

Our customers don’t need for us to do any marketing, tourism, philanthropy expenses, economic development or redevelopment. 

We should work to limit the need for legal, consulting, study and design expense. City staff should install and maintain CAD drawings of maps, roads, sewer lines, water lines, gas lines, storm sewer lines, watershed areas and zoning maps. City staff should provide design work and have specialized consultants review it.  City councils should work to simplify codes to avoid legal expense.

We should limit rules, permits, fees, fines and court actions in proportion to severity or actual city expense.

We should be honest about the limitations of police, fire and EMS services and explain these clearly so that citizens can act intelligently protect themselves. 

We should take the low bid and require a performance bond (an insurance policy paid for by the contractor guaranteeing completion).

We should avoid selling bonds or taking on debt. Cities can easily set up accrual accounts to save for planned replacement of critical infrastructure.

We should respect private property rights of residents and visitors. This includes privately owned land, buildings, vehicles and cash.

Even though citizen recreation is not a function of government, we should maintain existing parks. We should not purchase new parks because of low utilization and crime.

We should add sidewalks to allow children to walk and bike to school.

We should be responsive to businesses, but should not receive any campaign contributions from them to avoid corruption or the appearance of corruption.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader