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Council right to admit it‘s wrong |
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Tuesday, 05 December 2006 |
 Asheville City Council on Nov. 28 put to rest an issue that had caused quite a controversy in recent weeks.
In a unanimous decision, council reversed its previous vote to double the rent on the Louisiana Avenue U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reserve center. As a result, the Army will continue to pay the $60,000 per year that it has been paying since 2000, plus a 3.4 percent annual increase.
Proponents of the increase argued that it would bring the center‘s rent closer to those of sourrounding properties ‚Äî thus representing a more responsible management of the city‘s assets.
However,
many veterans, including Councilman Carl Mumpower, were angered that
the city would impose such a rent hike on the military during wartime.
When The
Asheville Tribune ran a headline on its front page that read, "City
Council Screws Troops," a public outcry ensued, culminating in several
threats made against Mayor Terry Bellamy.
On the other
side of the spectrum, Mountain Xpress reporter Cecil Bothwell noted
that the amount of money in question would fund "approximately 16
seconds of the current U.S. occupation of Iraq" in an e-mail to council
members and other local officials and media representatives.
While doves and
hawks alike might see an important ideological debate in this question,
we wonder if it isn‘t a tempest in a teapot. After all, the money in
question represents only a miniscule fraction of the Pentagon‘s budget
and clearly, municipal governments have no say in matters of national
foreign policy.
Nonetheless, we
commend council members for being willing to admit when they made a
mistake and finding a compromise with which all parties can live. This
is not something that is always easy for elected officials to do.
While some would
argue that council simply bowed under pressure, it is clear from the
sentiments expressed by many that at least some veterans and their
supporters feel very strongly about this issue. That is a sentiment
that should be respected — we owe a great deal of gratitude to those
who have served.
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