Questions Palmer mayoral candidates

To the editor:

It seems rather obvious to everyone but Mr. (Michael) Chmielewski and Mr. (Kevin) Brown, the two liberal politicians running for Palmer mayor, that the private sector is more efficient than government.

Nonetheless, when it’s pointed out to this duo that their own city audit shows an unsustainable level of general fund spending, their best responses seem only to tout the importance of all the stuff they bought.

Mr. Brown, for example, is aglow over the city’s $525,000 purchase of heavy equipment. He commented on it Sept. 3 on the Frontiersman website, in fact. OK, so now the city has more heavy equipment — and the additional storage, maintenance and insurance bills to go with it. Ultimately, it’s the Palmer taxpayer who has to bear these costs.

I defy these two mayoral candidates to find one use for this equipment, or anything else, that could not instead be put out for competitive bid and accomplished for less money. Private contractors and businesses can do anything the government can, and they create more jobs, more demand for products and services and lower costs to the taxpayer in the process. Also, private contractors frequently facilitate additional sales and property tax revenue, which help offset their costs.

With Palmer’s budget reserve currently able to provide for barely two months of operation, you would think responsible sitting council members like Mr. Chmielewski and Mr. Brown would be interested in lowering costs and bringing in new sources of revenue. While the outgoing city manager was clearly a master at attracting money to the city, it seems the only thing these two candidates have mastered is finding ever more ways to spend it.

Big government in small-town Palmer is not the answer, but it will soon be a reality if the people don’t speak up. Exercise your right to be heard. Get out and vote Oct. 5!

Andrew Evans

Palmer