Lawton City Council Votes To Raise The Water Bill

As the taxes and fees we pay the city government continue to rise, I can't help but think back to the last mayoral election cycle when one candidate advocated and ran on the idea that City Hall needed a full audit of every department to make sure our monies were being spent ethically and smart. The picture the other candidate painted was "audits will cost too much money to do," and the fiscally aware citizens bought into that political spin and elected the guy that said we could build new roads and push Lawton City Hall into the current world of technology. As I sit here watching the city council meeting to see if our utilities bill is about to again go up, I wonder if an outside audit of every department is exactly what the city government desperately needs right now.

I've never been a political type person. I don't have a specified political affiliation or party. I just don't think it's that hard in life to know that right is right and wrong is wrong. What is right is always necessary, what is wrong isn't acceptable, and what is ideal isn't always feasible. Having said that, I look at my current utility bill and wonder how we've gotten to a point where something as simple as clean water and refuse pickup is so impossibly expensive. You know there's a charge on the water bill that goes to purchase city vehicles? Why is that on the water bill? Why is that not paid for through a bond or tax revenues?

If you're curious, it took all of twelve seconds for your Lawton city council to vote to raise your water bill.

Don't get me wrong, as inflation happens things naturally go up in price. I understand that. I think most people understand that. But you would expect your services to stay the same with a rising cost, so as services have been cut, at some point you have to wonder where all of this money is going. Perhaps the transparency of a comprehensive public outside audit is just what the citizens need.