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To the editor:
Let's cut through the nonsense.
The city held a Town Hall. What did we get? A slick, scripted 20-minute video starring department heads in carefully staged locations. Glossy handouts. Cheap giveaways. A staff turnout of over 25 people. Fewer than 10 residents bothered to show up. And after it all? A pizza party -- for the staff. All on the taxpayer's dime. Feel informed yet?
Now ask yourself: How much did that circus cost?
Meanwhile, we had a Budget Review Committee -- a team of citizens with actual financial knowledge -- volunteering their time to dig into the numbers.
They asked real questions, demanded real answers, and worked without theatrics.
Their meetings were staffed by a clerk, documented, and shared publicly. Finance staff and a council liaison attended. When a department was asked to present, they show up and answered directly --no PR gloss, no video shoots, no freebies.
So here are the real questions:
• Which one cost more?
• Which one gave you actual insight?
• Which one served the public--and which served appearances?
This isn't complicated. One is window dressing. The other was real oversight.
If you're tired of the city playing marketing games with your money, tell your council member. It's time to ditch the showbiz and bring back the Budget Review Committee that did hard work.
Tom Shadrach
Cape Coral
(Editor's note: Mr. Shadrach was the chair of the disbanded Budget Review Committee.)