LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
City should save for a snowy day
3/24/2014Toledo was blessed with four consecutive mild winters, but now city residents are told to expect an increase in property assessments two years from to pay for high costs of labor and material this winter (“City Council to review $3.9M bill for ice, snow costs,” March 18.
Shouldn’t there have been plenty of money saved from the previous mild winters to cover the added expense of this winter? Once this amount is added to our property taxes, they will never come back down.
The city should have a snowy-day fund that can’t be touched for any other reason, without having to assess its taxpayers.
MARK RIDENOUR
Densmore Drive
Fix potholes, forgo union raises
I wonder whether the City of Toledo’s Division of Streets, Bridges, and Harbor has begun to study the cost of repairs to our pothole-pocked roadways. It needs to send the results of such a review to City Council and Mayor D. Michael Collins before they slash the capital improvement budget.
Council and the mayor have been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul to keep city employees happy and their unions on board to support them in the next election. They are neglecting city residents, who are not getting the services they should.
ROLLIND ROMANOFF
Parliament Square
Saving money becoming a dream
It’s no surprise that Americans can’t save money (“Households losing struggle to save cash,” March 2). The price of regular gasoline hovers above $3.50 a gallon. Basic cable TV and Internet service costs more than $100 per month.
A new full-size truck costs more than $30,000. Even popcorn at the movies costs $10.
All the while, our lawmakers, many of whom are in the million-dollar club, argue over a minimum-wage increase.
When Americans were duped into supporting our new and improved service-based economy, somebody should have figured out that the word “service” is synonymous with “servant.”
MATTHEW GOLKIEWICZ
Petersburg, Mich.
ProMedica move should spur transit
With ProMedica moving downtown, Toledo ought to be thinking about a light-rail transit system between downtown and the University of Toledo Medical Center (“‘Hensville project, Lake Erie, zoo aquarium set for funding; But ProMedica parking structure will have to wait,” March 19).
GERALD KAROW
310th Street