Some people think that because of the investigative reporting that I have done regarding the apparent illegal funding of Duvall Days, that I don't like Duvall Days or I want to stop it. There is nothing further from the truth.
I love Duvall Days. I love the kiddie parade, the main parade, the town coming together and enjoying the day, the sno-cones, the tricycle races, cow pie bingo, the fireworks and my personal favorite this year was the technology camp booth where the kids got to race robots by spinning a wheel with their hands.
I liked the new additions that were added this year and I truly think this was the best year I have seen. As I thought about why this is the case I was reminded of the reason by a friend; it was privately run. There clearly was motivation to make this a great event because there were private dollars on the line. There was a profit to be made. This is the bedrock principle of our economy and I am thrilled that this was the motivation.
There is an obvious point to make here once again. Private industry is far superior to government.
So I commend the organizers of Duvall Days. Thank you for a great event, thank you for once again showing us that private enterprise can always do a better job than government, thank you for promising to never ask for public funding again, and thanks in advance for returning the tax payers money the city illegally gave to you so nobody has to go to jail.
Did I miss a blog or a news article somewhere? This is the first I have heard about Duvall Days being illegally funded.
ReplyDeleteI had written a couple of articles for the river current news paper. I can forward them to you or post them here if you are interested.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to read them. I don't subscribe to any newspapers so I would never have been aware of this issue.
ReplyDeleteYou can go to their website: http://www.rivercurrentnews.com/news/2010-05-27/Front_Page/Did_City_of_Duvall_violate_the_State_Constitution.html
ReplyDeleteHere's a scenario.
ReplyDeleteSomeone is speeding with you in the car. You say to them, "that's illegal - you're going over the speed limit." They say, "What's up? Don't you like to go fast?"
So. Point is...if it is illegal, it is illegal and it has nothing to do with whether or not you like it or not.
Now, another scenario.
You see someone doing something illegal. It is your obligation to report that, whether to authorities or to the community, depending on the case. The fact that you point out that the council / city has illegally put funds ($20k) toward a private event (gifting of public funds, right?) has nothing to do with whether or not you enjoy Duvall Days's cowpie bingo or whatever.
So, instead of questioning your level of enjoyment of Duvall Days, your 'friends' should be appreciative of the kind of objective, factual and responsible reporting you did.
I never saw a response from the city. Did they explain why they gifted public funds? Did they explain why they can do it even though it seems to very clearly conflict with the state constitution?
ReplyDeleteDebbie
you are correct. In fact there has been no response from the city about this. I know the River Current News has repeatedly asked for information about this and has been repeatedly ignored.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem a very easy thing for the city to explain if they acted properly and had nothing to hide. I do not see any reason to go through all the bad press if there were any explanation.
The only assumption that I can make is that the city did not act properly and they are currently looking for a way to cover up their error, which in itself is another problem all together.
See, that's just plain wrong. Wrong. If you have evidence of no wrong-doing then provide it. What are they, above the law? Maybe they figure not answering any questions makes it all go away - eventually we forget? Another possibility is that they're crafting some excuse, digging down to find a way to justify gifting public funds. Or maybe they just don't care. Its all wrong.
ReplyDeleteLouis has been absent from the blog for awhile now - maybe now it is time he weighs in.
Have you checked the city's web site lately? They have a link on the front page pointing to a PDF with details on how to request funds from the city for community events. Amounts from $500 to $5000 will be given preference in order to encourage participation.
ReplyDeletehttp://duvallwa.gov/Grant%20pkg_Community%20Events.pdf
The requirements are that the recipient must be a private, non-profit organization registered with the state of Washington, or an IRS code 501 C3 entity.
I'm no attorney, but it sure sounds to me like the city council is repeating this violation of the constitution over and over again.
I would agree that they either have some information that shows that they have always been in the right or they just don't care that they are wrong. Unfortunately I think it is the second option.
ReplyDeleteThey are curently in the ignore it and it will go away mode. The city council does not return emails, many city staff members will not return emails and some are openly hostile about it.
It is really disappointing that rather than addressing the issue the city has chosen to bury their proverbial head in the sand.
Speaking of Sand, let's hope this isn't repeated for the Sandblast festival. I love these community events. It would be great to not have these problems again.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I hope the city decides to handle this properly so their actions do not cause continued controversy for other events as well.
ReplyDelete