Speak Out 12/7/14

Keep PB from

getting hurt

I'm shocked to hear our new city management wants to raise electric rates for our businesses in town, and shut down the Coliseum. This will run off the manufacturing businesses we have and prevent any new ones from coming to Poplar Bluff. Shutting down the Coliseum instead of trying to find ways to make it succeed will be a big black eye for Poplar Bluff. Is the current city management too incompetent to realize this?

The other disturbing trend is all the outsourcing of decisions we pay the city management to make that they say they need help with. This is going to cost Poplar Bluff taxpayers more money than we need to spend. I question whether there is something shady happening. Is there money under the table for all these outside consulting contracts?

In this economy we should be doing things to attract business, not becoming less competitive and poisoning the water here. We need to have competent management that doesn't need to outsource all decisions elsewhere and run up our expenses here. I have never been so pessimistic about Poplar Bluff's future as I am now.

The public needs to recall the last election and replace this city manager before Poplar Bluff really gets hurt.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: At this point, if the city does decide to raise electric rates it will be for residential customers only.)

Paving only

helps landlords

It would be interesting to know who owns the bulk of property on these gravel streets that the city is paving with 100% taxpayers money. It seems that most of these homes are rental. These landlords can well afford to pay their 1/3 of the paving cost -- just as we have always done. It is raising the value of these properties of the landlords at our (the taxpayers) expense.

Bringing the

city down

I think the people of Poplar Bluff need to get rid of Kaplan and Angela Pearson. It seems like we are just getting more and more put on us and utilities and people in Poplar Bluff don't make $160,000 a year like the people they are bringing in here. We can't afford higher electric rates and all the increases they are giving us. He may be doing good in paving some streets, but we need to watch out for the people have the wages to make all these increases in utilities. We need to vote them out, fire them, get rid of them. They aren't helping our city. They are just bringing us down.