Editorial

By Jon A. Brake

The City of Manhattan, Riley County and the Manhattan School District have all been working on the 2003 Budgets. Now is the time for you to start working on them. It is time for you to be heard.

The City of Manhattan has done a fair job. The County and School District needs some help.

Mayor Ed Klimek, Commissioners Brad Everett and Mark Taussig have not cut the budget but they have stopped the flow of red ink and things are looking better.

The Riley County Commission talk about holding the mill rate at 34 point something. Doesn't mean a thing. The Budget will go up by more than $1.3 million on just the extra we pay on our homes.

The total County tax figure will not be out until the auditor comes up with a figure later this week.

If you see Commissioners Alvan Johnson, Russ Frey and Bob Newsome let them know that you would like for them to cut the Budget (And they can) and you would like for them to fix roads and bridges with the money they have been taking from us for years. (And again they can)

The Manhattan School Board is lost someplace. They passed a Budget that they had never seen before last Wednesday night. They have worked on parts but had never seen the full budget.

Board members Nancy Knopp and Walt Pesaresi have done a good job. The others have turned into another rubber stamp board. Never, never vote for another member that has been a teacher, or wnaten to teach or any member of their family teaches.