Letters to the editor LGO teaser

I’m writing in response to Debbie Clark’s letter to the editor in the May 18 Observer. Clark is spreading misinformation and attempting to mislead voters and deteriorate support for volunteer emergency services.

She started spreading misinformation on Facebook on May 4, May 5 and beyond. I corrected her several times with the correct information. She continued to debate the facts. In response, the city council added an agenda item to both the work session and regular session to answer questions. The city administrator also drafted a summary document relating to all of the inaccurate information. Clark was informed by several individuals of this agenda item and was invited to attend. She was not present at the meeting. This document was shared online, and she was made aware of the existence of the document.

It is obvious that Clark does not appreciate nor support the volunteers of the Union Emergency Services/Union Rural Fire Protection District. This movement was driven by said volunteers and we are now seeing the result of several years of hard work by over a dozen people, both within the fire department and citizens outside the department.

The city budget is not $552,243 as she has stated. She is getting those figures from resolution 2023-08 (resolution to adopt the 2023-2024 budget). The actual budgetary expenditure is $199,804 after deducting capital outlay (reserve funds for future capital expenditures), contingency (funds held for possible unplanned expenses) and unappropriated funds (funds held as carry over into the next fiscal year).

As Clark is a former mayor (although recalled 13 months after taking office), I would expect that she would be able to read resolutions and budgets better.

Clark claims that city citizens pay a property tax for fire and an EMS fee for EMS services. URFPD is funded by property taxes by citizens in the Rural District. Union Emergency Services is funded solely by the $10 EMS fee paid by city water users. If the annexation passes, the EMS fee will terminate and city residents will start paying the same property tax as rural district residents pay.

Don George

Union