CURRENT LANDFILL TV COLLECTION

11/2/08
Mary Alice and Roy Glen
76 Horizon Drive
863-8585
Dogs Off Leash: We’re just calling to voice our opposition to the on-leash proposal for
lower Boise foothills trails. I will be attending the meeting at 5:30 this coming
Wednesday to testify. We are in a unique position; we live across the unmarked
trailhead to Military Reserve and in five years of living here have never seen a conflict
between dog owners off leash with other dogs, other users, bike riders, or people. So, I
believe that the proposals are a sledgehammer where certainly many other solutions
besides a bond lease need to be tried first. Thanks for listening.
BPR
11/3/08
William
Campaign Signs: I just wanted to make a comment on how obtrusive and ridiculous it is
to have all the election signs in Ada County. I just don’t understand why anybody would
want to put up with all that crap. I understand it’s a right, but they’re everywhere and I
hope someone picks them up and recycles them. You guys have a recycling coordinator
and I haven’t heard anything about where you take them or anything. So, maybe
someone can step up to the plate from the city. Thank you.
11/3/08
Christy Compton
1614 Cleveland
Boise 83705
336-1368
Parking: My comment is – I can’t find anybody else to help me. I’ve called the city, I’ve
called everybody. I live on Cleveland St. in Boise between Latah and Roosevelt on
Overland. Where my house sits, it sits kind of by Grifoils. They opened up a plasma
center in Napa Auto Park parking, and there just isn’t enough parking. NAPA has 18
parking places. Grifoils was told they could have all of them. NAPA is towing cars parked
in their side. I have to walk and carry my groceries in because my driveway isn’t very
big and my husband drives his truck when he’s home and I have kids and they drive.
We’ve never had this problem and now they’re going to plan on doing 1,500 people in
six days. There is just nowhere for them to park I don’t see how they can. On
weekends I can’t have people over any more because on Saturdays there’s too many
cars. I was just wondering of there’s something I can do or somebody I can call to see if
I can get somewhere so they can’t park in front of my house because then I have to park
clear down the street. Cars are parked there for hours at a time. Thank you.
HOTLINE
November 1 - 7, 2008
Page 3
ACHD
Action Taken: contacted
11/3/08
Dr. Po Huang
52 Horizon Dr.
Boise, ID 83702
794-1052
Dogs on Leash: I’m calling to voice my concern on the on-leash proposal for the foothill
trails. I moved up here because of the access to the trails; I use the trails a lot with my
dog. There’s no way I can ride my bike or run with my dog on-leash. The other thing is
with all the effort in regards to cleaning up the poop on the trails and all the gains we’ve
made already, in order to institute another restriction on our trails, I think is probably the
wrong thing to do. I just wanted to voice my concern in regards to this proposal. Please
call me if you have any questions.
BPR
11/3/08
11-4-08
Clair McGrath
2611 Sunset Ave.
Boise, ID 83702
870-2837
Dogs On Leash: My comment is in regard to the new on-leash proposal for the lower
Boise foothills trails. I really oppose this proposal and I think requiring these areas to be
on-leash only is totally unfair. I think it really affects negatively the quality of life for
residents like me in Boise. I regularly walk my dog almost daily on these trails and I’ve
never seen a problem that directly related to a dog being off leash. I’ve seen many,
many more problems with mountain bikers riding too fast, in fact I’ve been hit by a
mountain biker myself; I’m a mountain biker so I don’t hate bikes, I just think that there’s
problems on these trails with fast mountain bikers. I would really ask the city to consider
other alternatives; the first one would be doing a better job of enforcing the current rules.
I don’t think that’s done enough. The second one might be establishing some rules like
the city of Boulder, Colorado has. I lived there and they worked great; they required
dogs to remain in the sight of the person walking them, and the dog must be under voice
and sight control, which means that a ranger can ask the person to call the dog; the dog
must return upon its first being called, and if not the person is subject to a citation. So,
only well-behaved and well-trained dogs are allowed to be off the leash. I think that’s a
really good compromise. So, I think there are a lot of solutions here that can make a
wider variety of people happy; there are just way, way too many people in Boise who
enjoy walking their dogs off leash in these areas. Expecting people to drive out of town
is ecologically irresponsible and just really negatively affects our quality of life. Thank
you.
BPR
11/4/08
Ann Loftus
1908 N. 15th St.
343-0111
Dogs on Leash: I’m calling regarding the resurgence of leash laws required in the
foothills. I’m actually a dog owner and I would like to see that the lower foothills remain
off leash, at least some kind of compromise where the foothills would be partially off
leash; some trails would be off leash, some trails would require leashes, or perhaps
some kind of time restrictions; only off leash during certain times. I’m not a proponent of
the complete elimination of the leash required on all the lower foothills. Thank you very
much.
BPR

11/6/08
Bill Narver
5602 Randolph Dr.
Boise, ID
375-4387
Street Light: I would like to report a street light, which is numbered 44080A and it
comes off and on at odd hours of the day and night. It seems like an awful waste of
energy. There may be a short in it. Would you turn this over to the proper authority and
see if there’s a possibility that this could be corrected. Thank you very much.
PW
Action Taken: contacted

11/6/08
Ken J. Pedersen
2020 Blaine Way
Boise, ID 83702
On Leash Enforcement: I was calling to support the dog police. I had a very positive
incident with them at Elm Grove Park and they were very informative and very helpful. I
see that they were scoured in the Statesman editorial, but I think everybody needs to
support animal control and common sense and good management with their pets. I
learned a lot from them and they were very professional. So, “atta boy” to the dog
police; I think it’s a very good idea. Thanks.
Lady from Sacramento called 11/3/08, 11/4/08, 11/5/08, and 11/7/08

Absentee votes–and there are a bunch of them–will be released after 9 p.m. when North Idaho polls close.

The info in the FACT SHEET Ada County issued today to help the media folks is posted below:

VOTER REGISTRATION:
• 2008 General Election:
There are currently approx. 199,000 registered voters in Ada County – this
number will increase due to same-day registration provision at the polls
o 20,000 have registered since the primary
o State estimates approx. 80% voter turnout statewide
o Based on that calculation Ada County election officials expect more than
160,000 votes cast today
• 2004 General Election:
Ada County had 208,170 registered voters with more than 157,000 ballots
cast during the 2004 Presidential Election
o Ada County saw 75% voter turnout during the 2004 General Election
o Approx. 38,700 voters registered at the polls that day

EARLY VOTING
• 2008 General Election
As of Monday (11-03) 83,000 registered voters cast an early ballot (more than
half expected turnout)
o Approx. 15,780 votes cast at the Barrister early voting location
o Approx. 67,500 people have requested absentee ballots, and of those approx.
62,235 have returned them by mail
o Exactly 5,307 voters have not returned their absentee ballot, and to do so
they must personally drop off the ballot at the Ada County Courthouse, which
remains open until 8 p.m. today
• 2004 General Election
Only 26,348 registered voters voted early
o 22,348 registered voters requested and returned an absentee ballot
o Approx. 4,000 voted early at Ada County’s early poll location

ELECTION DAY PROCESSES
• Approx. 925 election workers on duty Election Day in Ada County
o Mostly paid temporary election workers, some county employees
o Approx. 100 to 125 workers at the election headquarters on Election Day
o Approx. 800 workers at the polling places
• Ada County has 141 precincts countywide
o In December, Ada County added17 precincts added in western Ada County
o As of 10 a.m., average wait times were about a half an hour at the polls

COUNTING PROCESS
o Absentee precincts and early voter ballots to be counted first
• Counting those ballots began during the afternoon of Election Day, but
because of the time difference in northern Idaho precincts, results
CANNOT be released until after 9 p.m. local time.
o After the precincts close, ballots are delivered to the Election Headquarters
at 5550 Morris Hill Drive
o Box is logged in as received and taken to verification station
o Verification station logs receipt of ballots and verifies that none are torn,
stained, wrinkled, or otherwise unreadable by the optical scan tabulators
o Ballots are then delivered to the counting station where they’re processed by
the counting machine
• The new Optical Scan Ballot tabulating machine counts 250 to 300
ballots a minute
• Ada County debuted the Optical Scan Ballot voting method during the
2008 Primary Election
• Results are unofficial until the canvass which usually takes a few days
o Unofficial results will be posted to the Ada County Web site
(www.adaweb.net) every hour to hour-and-a-half on Election Night

http://www.adaweb.net/departments/ClerkAuditorRecorder/Elections/EL45-HTM-ELECTION%20SUMMARY.HTM

First there was the collapse of the new overpass being built on Robinson Road over I-84 east of Nampa. There was one serious injury, but luckily no deaths or “serious injuries.” Of course a smashed thumb is serious if it belongs to you.

Graham Construction of Spokane has the contract to build the bridge as part of the “Improvements” to the freeway between Nampa and Boise.

The second story in this potential marriage saga involves Boise and its urban renewal agency, the CCDC (Capitol City Development Corp.). Far from ever “gettin er done,” the CCDC has its eyes on expanding into the area of Fairview and 30th to take even more of the downtown property off the City tax rolls.

Any project involving the CCDC includes a provision that property in the area is taxed, but tax revenues on any improvements or appreciated value is diverted AWAY from schools, city, county, and ACHD…leaving citizens in the rest of the city to pay for expensive services such as police, fire, roads, etc. The CCDC keeps those revenues for “infrastructure” within the district. Much of their money is spent on legal fees defending their actions as well.

Included in the project’s first phase is construction of a diversion dam in the Boise River behind the old Ford dealership to create a whitewater park for kayaks.

Sooo…if we can get the CCDC to hire Graham Construction to build the dam using the same techniques and quality control standards they applied to the bridge, many GROWTHOPHOBE issues could be solved in one gala wedding ceremony between CCDC and Graham.

–When the dam fails during spring runoff, the houses along the river in Garden City will be flooded, leaving no reason for Developer/mayor Evans to ban bicycles from the Greenbelt.

–Boise’s city attorney would have reason to expand the staff, buy some new computers, and further enhance the economy.

–Of course we would have a boost to the economy with JOBS.

The vast weed choked bare wasteland in the area of 30th and Fairview is a direct result of Boise City actions which encouraged businesses to leave. The city even owns or owned a bunch of the property.

Enlightened citizens meeting at Whittier School on 29th St. at 5:30 p.m. tonight might get the idea to plant trees and grass on the city property instead of condos, creating a huge CENTRAL PARK. Then Boise could be the most livable city in America!

People who couldn’t afford to purchase a home were granted loans in excess of the value of the property they wished to acquire. Here is how it worked:

–At the low end of the food chain, appraisers were told come up with a value that would cover the motrgage rate…there is a case in U.S. District Court of Idaho making that allegation at present.

–Mortgages often included various “concessions” as part of the purchase price. Say a house was worth $100,000 and needed $20,000 worth of repairs or upgrades, the mortgage was for $100,000, but the real purchase price was only $80,000.

–Buyers dishonestly claimed income levels high enough to get loans.

–Brokers often rolled second loans for down payments into the purchase price as well.

–Realtors dishonestly reported the $100,000 purchase price to the county and these “sales” became the value, even though the TRUE value was only $80,000. Sometimes the price was even higher if the 2nd loan was included.

–The mortgage brokers and bankers were dishonestly “covered” with inflated appraisals and sold the loans to the likes of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The bubble was getting bigger, but still intact.

When reality reared its ugly head, the bubble burst and we now have a financial crises. Some dishonestly blamed dishonest stock brokers and bankers in Paris.

Ada County Assessor Bob McQuade told the GUARDIAN a whole new method of determining MARKET VALUE–the legal assessment standard in Idaho–needs to be determined. He said it may take legislation to get the changes made, but he admitted the current system is dependent upon factors which may or may not be honest.

Meanwhile we all await the new property valuations that come out in May based on market value as of December 31.

BY DAN DUNHAM

What do you want the College of Western Idaho to be? Do you think it could be a
really great community college? Do you think it could be just like CSI and NIC?
While that would be admirable, I have a bigger view. I’m Dan Dunham and I believe
the College of Western Idaho could lead the way for education in Idaho. Following
the lead of the citizens that participated in the “Community Conversation”, the
College of Western Idaho will strive to meet the needs of the community.

Education administrators need to constantly explore the platform and delivery
method for effectiveness and cost efficiency. Your precious tax dollars must be
used wisely to best serve the students and the community.

Rather than limiting the College of Western Idaho to what has been done in the past,
I, Dan Dunham, know this is an opportunity to explore new ideas. As a businessman,
I have started several businesses. I understand leveraging current assets to get
the best possible use and return on investment. I want to use existing buildings in
the school system to not only save money, but to deliver college classes to the
community. I will work to bring the community college to the community. Many
academic classes could be delivered at school buildings, and perhaps even private
buildings, reducing the cost and making access to classes better for the community.

I have a military background and understand leadership. Knowing that the best
leader is one with a servant’s heart, I will be valuable in the search for a new
President for the college. I was an enlisted soldier as well as an officer. That
perspective allows me to empathize with both leaders and followers, and understand
the dynamics of organizational management that will be realized in a “win-win”
approach to all problem solving.

I don’t waste money. I have the best interest of the taxpayer, the student, and
the staff as my focus. Why did I decide to run for this position and ask for your
vote? I recognize this incredible opportunity to set the course for a new entity
that will serve as an example for how education is delivered in Idaho. I recognize
the opportunity for colleges in Idaho to deliver useful, timely and desired
education using the most cost effective methods possible. Please vote for me, Dan
Dunham, for a seat on the CWI Board.

BOSTON AREA TRAIN APPROACHES STATION

The politicos cite the Buy America Act as the basis for their letters to the Federal Transit Administration, the agency providing most of the funding for new locomotives for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.

With certain exceptions, FTA’s “Buy America” requirements prevent FTA from funding a project unless “the steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States.”

One such exception is if applying the Buy America requirements “would be inconsistent with the public interest.” Boston and the Spanish firm, Vossloh, are seeking a waiver to allow the foreign company to bid. They want to build a couple of prototype engines in Spain at their design and engineering facility.

Without the waiver, Vossloh says the geographic separation between the design-engineering department in Spain and the USA final assembly facility in Mayfield, Kentucky, would result in an unacceptable increase in labor costs to Vossloh for final assembly of two prototype locomotives (to be built in Spain). The waiver for the two units would limit the cost, advance the schedule, and therefore reduce Vossloh’s bid price for the entire procurement of many more locomotives.

Vossloh and MBTA claim such a waiver is in the public interest because it will enable Vossloh “to submit a competitive bid with respect to price and schedule,” and because it will “expand the competitive range to include Vossloh as a compliant bidder.”

The politicos won’t concede their actions are politically motivated, but while Boise may save some jobs at Motive Power, there will be some unhappy Ridgerunners in Mayfield, Kentucky where the Spaniards plan to build the rest of the order which could ultimately be over 50 locomotives. It all boils down to whose ox is being gored.

The politicos welcome a French nuke processing plant at Idaho Falls, but theywould be outraged if powerful democrats in Boston tried to scuttle it for some reason. The Boston locomotives will ultimately be built wherever the most powerful politicos decide they will be built–not necessarily at the lowest price for the best quality.

Ironically, the FTA routinely grants such “Buy America Waivers” waivers for light rail, but not standard gauge trains.

We got this message from the Team Dave press office:

“At its September 30 meeting, the Council will act on an amended resolution on the land exchange which will extend the closing date to on or before October 23, 2008.”

We have no idea where this puts things since the council has already approved the transaction, but if they hold a public hearing and give any interested party a shot at the purchase, we would have no objection. All of their dealing on this deal has been conducted out of the public eye with a single “buyer” who doesn’t even own the land they are offering to trade.

9/18/08
Melissa LaPlae
Coldstone Cremery: I own a business downtown, New Leaf Boutique. Right next door
to me is Coldstone Creamery and I have been dealing with this horrible mess in front of
this business for a month now. I’ve called the Health Department; I’ve called CCDC; I’ve
called the managers of this building; I’m going to call the Cold Stone Creamery corporate
office to report it. I took photos; it is an utter disgusting mess in front. There are
cigarette butts, their windows are filthy; it’s gross. I have seen better looking places in
the ghetto. It totally brings our downtown even farther down, more than it is now. It’s
going downhill. Something needs to be done; no one cares and it’s sad. So, I don’t
know what anybody can do about it; I’ve done all I can do. Tomorrow I’m going out there
with a bucket of soapy water myself, which I shouldn’t do, and scrub the dang sidewalk.
I have photos but I don’t know where to send them. All the other places on 8th St. look
just great; the restaurants keep their places clean but this company just refuses to do
anything and it’s gross. That’s all I have to say; thank you very much.
CCDC

9/12/08 @ 4:46 p.m.
Paul Koloski
6604 Fairfield Ave.
375-5401
Ombudsman: I called Pierce Murphy, the Ombudsman, and they said 395-7859 and all
I got was a ah-ah-ah. That’s all I got from the thing and I’m wondering how to get hold of
them because I have a claim against the city and that’s all I got. I’m just letting you know
this and I’ll try to call them again Monday. They said to leave a message and all I got
was nothing. Thank you.
Ombudsman
9/15/08 @ 8:08 a.m.
Paul Koloski
375-5401
Ombudsman: I sure would like to talk to someone instead of a machine. Thank you.
Action Taken: contacted
9/15/08
Rick Lagon
Weed Abatement: I just want to support the Mayor’s decision to look at the weed
control system we have presently, where it’s not proactive and they must have a signed
document by the person making a complaint. It seems to me if we’re going to do that,
we don’t need them at all. Undoubtedly there are places where you can obviously see
something should be done, but they’re not going to do it because they don’t have the
signed complaint. I support changing it so that they can take requests by neighbors so
they don’t have to get embroiled in a neighbor dispute. Thank you.
PDS
9/15/08 @ 3:28 p.m.
Paul Koloski
375-5401
Ombudsman: It is 3:30 on September 15th. I have been calling you folks since Friday
when I had bad information; I called you today once or twice. Why isn’t anybody talking
to me about what’s going on with the city? I guess this is not a hotline because when I
think about a hotline, somebody will answer my questions and talk to me. Evidently this
hotline doesn’t mean too much to us. I’ve already called the prosecuting attorney for the
city and we’re discussing stuff, but I would rather talk to you folks because I need
something to be dealt with here. I don’t know, you guys aren’t calling me; you aren’t
answering me, what is this? Why aren’t you calling me and answering me? As I said
Friday, I will call you every day until I get an answer. Thank you.
9/15/08
Kirby Clondenen
1711 S. 10th Ave.
Caldwell, ID 83605
Airport Photo: I’m a dentist over there and although I’m not a citizen of your county, I
am interested in the image that Idaho presents to people as they come to our airport in
Boise. I just wanted to give you guys a suggestion. You know, that picture downstairs in
the big rotunda that shows the Mayor and his staff, it’s really poor photography. It’s not
in sharp focus, it’s faded, and it’s an ugly thing. It would be better not to even be there
than to look like that. I would suggest that you take it to the people who did it for you
and ask them if they would do a better job for you. That would be my suggestion; thank
you very much. Bye.
Airport

9/18/08
Sylvia Anderson
331-0387
Coldstone Cremery: I’m a business owner downtown, Syringas. I’m glad this is going
to be public record because I need to know. You know, we’re trying to make a living
down here; we pay our taxes down here; the economy of course is hurting. I’ve been to
every city on the west coast and what the hell is going on with the City Council, with the
Health Department, with the Mayor walking down the street and not having anything
done. I’m standing in front of Coldstone Creamery. It’s filthy; it looks like rat droppings;
it’s disgusting. The Health Department should have been reported. I’ve contacted the
Health Department along with the store owners; this is bs. You know, I mean, I’m not
going to play nice guy on this one because I’ve been a business owner down here for 5
years; I’ve also considered investing in the buildings down here and this is b.s..
Somebody, the Mayor, I mean is everybody so blind that they can’t see this? This is
where the Capitol Building is; this is where our tourists come, and this is what we
represent? You need to see this; it’s filth. It looks, which I lived in LA for many years, it
looks like the bad part of where the drug addicts lay on the sidewalk and sleep
downtown in the bad part of LA. That’s what it looks like and that’s what’s representing
our businesses and I’m pretty pissed off. Somebody needs to get down here and
somebody needs to look at this. I’m calling the news media and we’re going to slander
Boise City because we shouldn’t be having to do this. This is what we pay our taxes for.
Why in the hell our Mayor isn’t noticing this or anybody else that has some authority,
because our hands are completely tied. We had a hard enough time trying to get
approval of getting signs on the corner to give the tourists identifications of other
businesses so we can keep the revenue moving here. Everybody is sitting on their ass
not doing anything; somebody needs to come down here and look at this filth and
allowing it to happen. Once again, Sylvia Anderson, Syringas; I’d love to talk to a real
person. Thank you.
HOTLINE
September 13 - 19, 2008
Page 3
CCDC
9/18/08
Sharon Jarrett
884-1581
Weed Abatement: I just wanted to let you know that I called the Ada County weed
control in Meridian because there are some huge thistles going to seed. The basic
concern is - I wonder what they do because they didn’t do anything for the problem. I
called originally and gave them the address, then I realized about a week or two later
that I had given them the wrong address. They never called me back to correct that and
find out where they actually were. I drove by there just this week and they’re still there
and that was a couple of months ago that I called them. So it’s a concern when
somebody isn’t doing their job and I just wanted to leave this message. Thank you, bye.
Action Taken: contacted
9/19/08
Donna Fairchild
4838 Johns Landing Way
Boise, ID 83703
368-9718
Weed Abatement: Hello, I’m hoping you can help. I have called Code Enforcement four
times regarding my neighbor’s yard. He has 5 ft. weeds in his front yard which not only
poses a fire hazard but a toxic weed hazard as well. I have not received any replies
from Code Enforcement, nor has his lawn been taken care of. The neighbor’s house is
right next door to me, 4832 Johns Landing Way. Several of us are very upset about this
and nothing seems to be getting resolved. If someone could contact me, I would
appreciate it. Thank you.
PDS
Action Taken: left msj

McClure

The couple’s pain over losing a son who died in the Ada County Jail is still deep.

McClure had a somewhat troubled life — three DUI convictions and a diagnosed medical condition that was being treated by anti-anxiety medications. In 2003 he was sentenced to serve time in the Ada County jail for DUI.

When he checked in at the jail and informed jailers he needed his meds, they denied him possession of the drugs, citing jail policy. They also would not administer the meds without the authorization of the jail’s doctor.

He soon died in custody and the family claimed it was for lack of medication. The county claimed cause of death was–sarcoidosis– the same condition suffered by comedian Bernie Mac’s who died recently.

Evidence was presented during the three week trial that ended Thursday indicating McClure had the active ingredient of his anti-anxiety medication in his blood, but testimony was offered claiming it was less than one-third the therapeutic dose.

Society will not win or lose debating the cause of death. The important thing is that it not happen again.

Sheriff Gary Raney talked with the GUARDIAN about the incident–which transpired prior to his election as sheriff–and said there was “a break in the continuation of care” for McClure due to the policy in place at the time of not allowing inmates access to their own drugs. He said that break in treatment no longer happens, thanks to new medical facilities, trained medical staff, and new policies.

While still seeking closure and some indication their son did not die in vain, the Eichmanns say they are “at peace” with the jury decision. They may find it in Sheriff Gary Raney.

“Sheriff Raney approached my wife last week during a break in the trial and offered to give us a personal tour so that he could show us the changes in the jail medical unit which were brought about because of Michael’s death. However, all the $6 million improvements don’t address the fact that the jail STILL has a policy of prohibiting medications. That’s barbaric in the 21st Century.”

Raney confirms even today, an inmate would not be allowed access to the drug without authorization–to the jail–from a doctor. However the lag time for that authorization should be shortened drastically, brought about in part as a result of the death of McClure.

We hope they take the tour Raney has offered. If they have some constructive ideas for Raney, he should seriously consider them.

Under the plan, property at the sheriff’s office complex in Sandpoint would have been leased to Rocky Mountain Corrections. The private company would then finance construction of a 34-bed juvenile lockup and 60-bed work release center. The county would pay more than $782,000 a year and would own the buildings after 30 years, financing the plan through inmate fees and payments for inmates from other jurisdictions.

A similar lease-purchase plan is afoot in Caldwell for a new Urban Renewal Agency funded building to house the Oregon based Treasure Valley Community College. That plan is clearly in conflict with the constitution as well, but Caldwell officials are forging ahead with the project which the GUARDIAN suspects is illegal.

Also in Caldwell is yet another plan for a jail expansion–also long term debt that is being attempted contrary to the Idaho Constitution. There is a lawsuit pending over that one.

After the GUARDIAN editor won cases against Boise City over a proposed police building and an airport parking garage, cities have been scrambling to slip various schemes around the voters, including a proposed constitutional amendment to deny citizens the rights they currently hold.

The one thing all these schemes have in common is the local officials are adamantly against allowing the citizens their constitutional voter rights to approve debt in excess of a single year’s revenues.

As citizens have become empowered, the courts are increasingly looking favorably toward enforcing the constitutional mandate to allow the citizens the power they already hold over the pursestrings.