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The city council members of Stanford were elected by the citizens of Stanford just as the mayor is. The city council is a mirror image (only in a much smaller comparison) to the U.S. Congress, that is to say that the council holds the purse strings to the City of Stanford.

The city council has the elected right to control the expenditures of the city. Any expenditure other than the daily operations of the city should come before the council for a vote.

While this action may put the mayor in a somewhat controlled situation, it also enables the council to put the yearly budget of the city in a more informative form for its citizens.

With the city’s adoption of House Bill 422 and the city’s new nuisance ordinance, there are many changes in place from the past. Might I suggest that you take time to familiarize yourself with these changes. You can pick up a copy of the nuisance ordinances at city hall Monday through Friday.

If the citizens of Stanford care about what goes on within the workings of the city, they should attend the city council meetings (even though they can be boring at times). You would have an in-depth idea of what goes on within the city.

Money spent by the city is the main and only reason for the increase in taxes put forth to every citizen of Stanford.

I am by no means suggesting that every citizen of Stanford attend every council meeting. However, I am stating that if you are concerned about how the city is run, take an interest in its workings.

I can, without hesitance, state that 75% of the citizens of Stanford have no idea of the duties of the Code Enforcement Officer, the Code Enforcement Board, Planning and Zoning Board or any other city board.

The Interior Journal and radio station WPBK do their very best to keep citizens informed to the workings of the city, however, they cannot bring the full impact of what goes on in a city council meeting.

If you have complaints about how the city is run and you do not take an interest in its workings then you, as a citizen, have no room to voice your complaint and shame on you!

Larry Nunemaker
Stanford