Our town

     Our town. What does that mean to you? The words ‘our town’ can be used to describe a given group of businesses, schools, churches, fraternities, civic groups, philanthropic groups and homes in which a group of people work, go to school, attend worship services, congregate, and live? Even if a person grows up and moves away, they always think back to their hometown. What kinds of thoughts go through your mind when you say the words ‘my town?’ Do you think about your neighbors, school friends, co-workers, business associates, or family members?

     On the topic of our town, I am working on defining the lines of our town’s boundaries. As many of you know or some of you may have heard me talk about an ordinance from May 5, 1955. Along with that ordinance, there is a map that illustrates the corporate boundaries for the city of Bedford.  Unfortunately, the ordinance was never properly filed with the secretary of state’s office. This means it is not binding because it does not have their stamp of approval. Further on that, the secretary of state’s land office informed me that the last map presented to them was when the department of transportation gave them one in 1980.

     Getting our lines in order is something I would like to discuss at a ‘Town Hall’ type of meeting when I finish collecting all the information about the subject.  When I have all of my ducks in a row, I will invite everyone in town to come voice their opinions for or against. Although, I can’t see how anyone would oppose restoring an important part of Bedford’s history. After all, the men and women who drew out the city limits of Bedford were our forefathers. I’m not pulling any of this out of thin air and I will gladly share all of my information with everyone at the ‘town hall’ meeting.

     According to a person at the Trimble County PVA, there is no record to be found showing the last time the city limits of Bedford were surveyed. Therefore, I am in talks with a local surveyor who has copies of the ordinance that gives a property description. He is on the agenda to give us a ballpark figure of what it is going to cost the city to be surveyed at the February meeting.  I see it as an investment. And although I talk about forging into the future with our eyes wide open, I think we must take what our forefathers have given us and do something with it instead of sitting back bickering over who’s doing what for how much and how often, I want to set down some guidelines for what ‘our town’ will look like 20 years from now. Ask anyone over 40 years old, 20 years flies by fast. So because of that, we must join together and get this right for our children and grandchildren. Our forefathers set us pretty good, but we didn’t plan on time going by so fast. If you’re a younger person reading this blog, this is for your future. Getting these boundaries lined up is for you and your children.

       One of the reasons people might not want to be inside city limits is the small tax burden associated with being in the city limits. In some of the old minutes from ‘Town Board’ meetings,  property tax was as much as fifty cents per hundred dollar’s worth of assessed value. I haven’t found where it dropped to sixteen cents per hundred dollars, but that is what it is right now and I don’t see any reason to raise them at this time. It is true that people in the city limits pay county and city taxes. It doesn’t seem right because in the past, there have been conflicts between city and county and who pays for what on what streets. It need not be this way and I am hopeful that as time goes by the relationships between city and county elected officials will be better suited for the best interest of the people, collectively. Please do not mistake my intentions; I am not trying to put down any previous elected officials. I am just stating the way it has been for years. For better or worse. The city currently offers waste water services and curb side trash collection. 

     Many people in the city are already aware of a municipal insurance premium tax. The city has been collecting taxes that way since the 1980s. The county began collected money that way a couple of years ago because they realized the revenue they could gain from it. The city of Bedford charges 11% and the county initially charged 5%, but recently raised it to 10% and the city of Milton charges 8%.

     Here is where boundaries matter even more, how does the insurance company know if you’re in the city limits or in the county? If they go by the map the secretary of state has on file which is the exact map the county PVA has on file, the city of Bedford is very small. I know firsthand that insurance companies don’t know because I have sent letters and seen letters faxed to insurance companies saying ‘so and so’ is not in city limits or vice versa. But that decision was based on oral tradition that has been passed down from city clerk to city clerk and commissioner to commissioner for decades.

     I am hopeful to get these boundaries resolved. You, the reader of this blog, deserve better from your local government. If you live in a sketchy boundary area, you know that if you ask the city to do something they pass the buck and say that’s the county and vice versa.  Don’t you agree? Have you ever been in that situation? I have. But that was before I was mayor. Now that I am mayor, and not just a commissioner, things are changing for the better. We all have vested interest in the community.

     What about voting? Another great reason to get the boundaries lined out. The city of Bedford has commissioners who have been serving over 20 years. It’s not because they were power hungry and liked controlling everything, well hopefully not. It boils down to nobody else inside the small city limits wants to do the job. How do you think I got elected? I am a traumatic brain injury survivor claiming that I can see the future and firmly believe if “WE THE PEOPLE” don’t get off our butts and set ‘our town’ on a better course, someone 20-30 miles away will step in and tell us how to live. That’s not what I want and I can’t imagine you want that either. I know nearly everyone around here. There are some highly educated and intelligent people raising teenagers and younger children in our town.  Surely, we can put our heads together and do what’s best for our homes and our way of life.

     That’s all I have to say tonight. Thank you and God bless you for reading this blog. I hope to hear from you soon, whether I agree with you or not.  I’m open minded enough to hear your opinion. Maybe I will sell you on my idea or perhaps you will sell my on yours. But as everyone knows opinions are just opinions and everyone is certainly entitled to his or her own. Right? I hope you agree.