The "Winona-Goodview Experient" is perhaps the
more-than-two-years-study by the Goodview Winona Consolidation
Commission,
with the final report to the State of Minnesota
Municipal Board and the two communities in April of 1998. We consisted of
nine
members from each of the communities, and our four
key areas of study were: Form of Government, Local
Government,
Planning and Land Use, and Environment and
Ecology. There were many issues in each area, ranging from street
maintenance to
the effect of consolidation on local government
aid. We studied each community, then the effects of "togetherness"
and
the report was ultimately presented to the citizens
for their vote. Copies of this study filled with valuable information
should
be available at the Winona Public Library, if not
at respective city offices.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 5:02
PM
Subject: Re: [Winona] Consolidation of
Government
[Winona Online Democracy]
I agree, Bob, that Keith has asked some good
questions and I appreciate his willingness to put himself out there in the
midst of the debate!
I live in Richmond Township and have recently
seen one benefit to be this--when the road doesn't get plowed or sanded
sufficiently, I can call the individual responsible and let him know what I'm
concerned about. I suppose this happens in the City, too.
That's really just an aside, though. I
would like to ask about this "Winona/Goodview experiment" you describe--can
you tell us more? Especially about the part about lower taxes in
Goodview--a colleague mentioned to me recently about how much higher hers were
compared to similar property in Winona. Which is accurate?
Just wondering,
Kathy Seifert
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 4:30
PM
Subject: Re: [Winona] Consolidation of
Government
[Winona Online Democracy]
Why do we still
need township government? What does a township offer that the County
can�t do more effectively?
Does it make
sense to have two or three cities side by side that duplicate most
services?
I think that Keith has posed two perfectly
legitimate questions here.
What it all boils down to is preferred
structures for self-governance. It's not a logical debate about how to
most economically provide services. I once again make reference to
the introduction to the city comprehensive plan of 1960. Winona
should be one city extending from Minnesota City to Homer. One
Fire Department. One Police Department. One Street
Department. That is the sensible solution.
But as the great Winona-Goodview experiment in
the 1990's proved, some folk just don't want to be part of the big
town. They want lower taxes. They want a larger voice in a
smaller choir. They want to leave some problems behind in the city, I
think, when they go home at night. And for rural residents it is, I
think, a desire to be left alone and free of perceived interference
from city authorities who might be nosier than their township
neighbors.
These are just guesses...I'm a city boy.
But whether we live across an imaginary line or not, we are all in this
together. In an era when our schools can't even afford a musical, we
can't afford the luxury of wasting money on duplicative government in other
areas. Everyone deserves a local government, and I think townships
serve a valid purpose in authentically rural areas. Wilson township is
not such an authentically rural area. It is sandwiched
between the city of Winona and the Interstate. It is destined for
development. It, too, in my opinion should be a part of the city of
Winona.
Bob Sebo
Winona
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