Hat’s off to the City Council
To the editor:
I applaud the City Council for having the courage to make tough decisions. These intelligent, experienced individuals were voted to office to represent the citizens of Presque Isle and are well-suited to do so without the hand-holding of the silent majority. The council is human and I’m sure that choosing to eliminate positions and reallocate revenue is very difficult, but I’m sure they have their eye on the big picture.
The big picture as I see it has a couple of points. First, we just don’t have the fires we used to have. Forty years ago it was common to see a glow in the sky where someone was losing a home, potato house, or barn from faulty wiring or heating systems. Today with improved building systems and building codes, recent construction is very fire-resistant. As for the older buildings, the insurance companies have encouraged owners to upgrade electrical and heating systems. The upgrades have made these buildings much safer and fire-resistant. For those of us that have made these investments in fire prevention, and that is virtually all of us, we deserve reimbursement. Reimbursement should come from reduced insurance premiums and lower taxes.
My second point is that Presque Isle is in a global market place. The businesses of Presque Isle need to compete in the world market. You can call taxes anything you wish, but what they are is simply an expense. To compete, you need to control expenses and lower them when and where possible. I don’t think it was by accident that McCain Foods was making huge investments in their Easton facility while tearing down their Presque Isle facility. McCain is also in the global market place and is examining expenses continually and found more value in Easton than Presque Isle.
I do hope that this new businesses-friendly council can reduce taxes and encourage new investment into Presque Isle that can bring many jobs.
Andy McGlinn
Presque Isle
