[ back ]
Councilman not giving up on 4th of July
(by Rachel Scofield, Staff Writer - March 19, 2009)
Councilman Brian Sauer refuses to accept that Pickerington will not celebrate Independence Day this summer.
Last fall the council cut the July 4 parade and fireworks from the budget to save the cash-strapped city $28,000, but Sauer opposed the cuts.
At the March 17 council meeting, Sauer said he had researched the budget and found areas for potential savings. With matching funds from Violet Township, the festivities could be saved, he said.
The deadline has passed for hiring a fireworks contractor, said councilwoman Tricia Sanders, who sits on the Parks and Recreation board. Pickerington would have needed to hire someone in January "or at the very latest early March."
Councilman Michael Sabatino suggested that the council implement Sauer's recommendations for 2010, but for 2009 "the reality is it's tough to pull off time wise."
"Let it go," councilman Brian Wisniewski said. "Let's not continue to revisit things because people have a personal interest in them. What message are we sending?"
The council has revisited too many issues recently including the red light cameras and whether or not to hire the Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) to process the city's taxes, Wisniewski said.
The red light cameras, which initially the majority of council supported, were voted down and RITA remains tabled.
"Make up your minds and stick to it," Wisniewski said. "Do not keep going back and forth. It sends a bad message for council to revisit the fourth of July again."
"Yes, we did make decisions to do things a certain way this year, but as new information becomes available you need to revisit it," Sabatino said.
However, in regards to July 4, "we're batting in the bottom of the ninth for this year," Sabatino said.
"I have pushed for this since day one," Sauer said. "I will not give-up on anything that's good for the quality of life."
"I am not against looking at 2010, but I just think we made our decision," Wisniewski said.
[ back ]
