SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
December 11, 2007
The Johnson County Council of Governments (JCCOG) is the local entity that oversees much of the transportation funding in Johnson County. JCCOG recently discussed the establishment of a Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).
I have long advocated for the establishment of an MTA, and at the JCCOG meeting, I voted to form a committee to consider the scope of an independent feasibility study.
People think of different things when they think of an MTA. My vision is simply answering some questions: Do the four separate transit systems (SEATS, IC Transit, Coralville Transit, and Cambus) provide the best service on the planet? Do they provide the most comprehensive service on the planet? Do they operate more efficiently than any other systems on the planet? If the answer to any of these questions is "no," then we have room for improvement.
I lack the expertise to answer these questions. I would be curious to see how a qualified, disinterested third party would answer those questions.
That is why I support a study.
It is hard to imagine that services can be expanded without increasing the amount of money coming into the system. A transit study will undoubtedly show that we have greater needs than resources. That really doesn't change anything there are tough decisions to be made now, and there would be tough decisions to be made if an MTA existed.
We may find that our current system needs no improvements. We may get some valuable recommendations. We may hear that we need to scrap everything and start fresh. I do not have a preconceived notion of how we are doing. I do not have a preconceived notion as to how an MTA might be organized. We may have 4 separate systems under one MTA; we may have one. It may deal with cars, bikes, vanpools, busses, and rail; it may deal only with buses.
Again, I do not have a preconceived notion as to how it would look. The committee will decide the scope of any study.
I do, however, have a preconceived notion as to how governments ought to serve their citizens. I do expect us as elected officials to search for the best possible service at the lowest possible cost. It seems crazy to me that anyone would oppose a study.
The most recent edition of the Sunday Des Moines Register talks about efforts to bring people to rural Iowa. Rural areas claim to want educated people working at good-paying jobs. Having just attended the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) meeting in Des Moines, I have my doubts.
A big topic of conversation at ISAC was Public Health redesign. A bit of
background: most states now have some type of accreditation for public health departments. These states have core service standards that must be met. Most experts see this as a positive for public health, and see it as the future of public health.
Iowa has been looking into these types of changes (hence redesign), and the proposals were discussed at ISAC. Unfortunately, ISAC has been openly hostile to the proposed redesign.
It was so disappointing to hear my fellow Supervisors poo-poo public health as too expensive. These folks protested that restaurants need no inspections; wells and septic systems need no inspections; infectious disease planning is a waste of time; public health clinics are "socialized medicine;" people running public health departments do not need degrees; and preventing animal confinement buildings and lagoons from being right next to creeks is too restrictive.
Rural Supervisors you will reap what you sow. Why would people want to move to an area where public health is an afterthought? Why move to a place where college degrees are not valued? If a given county is unable to meet the standards, they are free to cooperate with neighboring counties. This has been the case locally, as Johnson County has handled food inspections in Washington County for quite some time.
I support public health redesign efforts. Every Iowan deserves basic public health services. I hope more Iowans will come to see this.
Below is a link to a great article by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone:
http://www.alternet.org/story/48278?comments=view&cID=571154&pID=568916.
While America obsessed about Brittany's shaved head, Bush offered a budget that offers $32.7 billion in tax cuts to the Wal-Mart family alone, while cutting $28 billion from Medicaid.
Bad news for fuel efficiency in Iowa: the two top-selling vehicles in Iowa are the Chevy Silverado (8,000 new vehicles last year) and Ford F Series (5,800). The Toyota Camry is third at only 2,700, just above the Dodge Ram (2,200).
DID YOU KNOW? In 1980, Iowa had just over 1000 car dealerships. It has 380 today.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website - http://www.johnson-county.com/.
"Sullivan's Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod @ 10:16 PM
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