SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
July 30, 2020
Sullivan’s Salvos 8/4/20
In this edition:
*Congratulations Jan at Deli Mart!
*Trouble Ahead
*Personal Struggles
*Hypocrisy on County Spending
*Did You Know?
*Congratulations Jan at Deli Mart!
A special shout out to Jan Johnson, who is retiring after many years at the Deli Mart on East Benton Street.
Because that Deli Mart is just a few steps away from county buildings, Jan is a familiar face to county employees. And for several years, she has served as counselor, psychiatrist, comedian, financial advisor, and friend to many of us.
Interestingly, Jan grew up in a house full of sisters just two blocks from where she ended up working all these years. I, for one, am glad she ended up at Deli Mart!
Walking into a convenience store and coming out with a couple items does not seem like a big deal. But Jan is such a witty and fun person that those short interactions really brighten my day. And I know I am not alone. I have heard people say, only half-jokingly, that if Jan ran for a County Office she would win in a landslide. Others have noted that Jan is the Johnson for whom the county should be named!
Thanks, Jan, for brightening all of our days. Congratulations on your retirement. We will miss you very much!
*Trouble Ahead
We are five months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, I do not see things getting better any time soon. As a matter of fact, I think we will face more and bigger challenges in upcoming months. Here are just a few of my concerns:
Public health: The virus is no more “under control” than when it first arrived. There is community spread, particularly amongst younger adults. Perhaps most alarmingly, I am hearing a larger and larger number of people beginning to say things like, “Well, it is really only killing older people.”
Really? Imagine for a moment that every nursing home in Iowa had a rogue nurse who murdered two people. Would we be OK with that? For the record, I would not be OK with that amount of death. Yet that is almost exactly where our numbers are. The measure of a society is how it protects its’ most vulnerable. This is our test.
Schools: I have tremendous sympathy for parents, who are stuck in an impossible conundrum. They need to work in order to pay the bills. If the kids can’t be at school, the parents cannot work. Even if you are lucky enough to be able to work from home, you cannot hope to both do your job and adequately teach your kids. Teachers and staff are nervous, too, and I get it! Meanwhile, the people elected to make such decisions get sidelined by the Governor.
Higher education: Much of the instruction is moving online. Given that, will students risk moving to Iowa City? What happens when they do not come? The UI is already making deep cuts. Expect more to come.
Economy: I have already laid out a number of critical issues that cannot be solved by the market. The Federal government is going to need to step up in a very big way!
State and Local governments: Local governments are largely funded by property taxes. Big businesses already fight paying property taxes with an unmatched zeal. Small businesses were already hanging by a thread due to Amazon and other online retailers. COVID-19 is going to shutter some businesses that never reopen. In addition to job loss, that will affect the tax base.
Housing still seems strong in Johnson County. But if the federal unemployment changes, renters are screwed. They will have nowhere to go. What do we do then? And if the UI cuts go deeper, and the Federal government fails to act, we will see people in Johnson County unable to pay the mortgage. And it is a vicious cycle – less revenue because people are hurting means less revenue available to help folks that are hurting.
Environment: I don’t know enough about this to speak with any expertise, but I know the amount of plastic being used now is through the roof. Plus my family and I used to use 100% post-consumer toilet paper and a few other products that seem to be no longer available.
And this is all COVID related. I am not even talking about the unmarked Federal troops hurting protesters in Portland, or the fact that we still have children in cages on the southern border.
My intent here is not to be Debbie Downer, but rather to urge readers to be aware of just how precarious our situation is right now. I see six major things we can do:
1. Take the appropriate health precautions.
2. Push our Federal and State governments to act.
3. Work to vote the GOP out in November!
4. If you pray to some sort of God, pray for a cure!
5. If you have the resources, shop local.
6. Be kind, patient, and calm.
*Personal Struggles
The COVID world we live in has me quite depressed. I have written about this previously, but I guess I feel the need to go there again. I feel like a cell phone. When people are around, I am charging. When I am not around people, my battery runs dry. That makes this time very difficult for me personally.
Yes, I understand that I am blessed. I don’t have the disease. I don’t really know anyone who has died from it. I have health care insurance, and I am working. My wife has the same arrangement. We have enough money. I get it, I am lucky.
But depression doesn’t care. I miss my kids. I miss my friends. Work sucks. The US has become a much crueler place. Things are not exactly fun.
So, if you ever want to stop by for a socially-distanced, masked-up conversation, I am your guy! Just let me know!
*Hypocrisy on County Spending
As I mentioned in previous Salvos, all the craziness of 2020 has caused some unbudgeted spending at the County. Unfortunately, one Supervisor has been quite critical (and hypocritical). I want to set the record straight.
The Board has been met with approximately $1.2 million in possible additional spending in FY21, with about $425,000 of that ongoing expenses. (Send me an email if you wish to see a breakdown.)
Four Supervisors (Porter, Heiden, Green Douglass, and Sullivan) have voted to approve $300,000 of that, with $75,000 ongoing annually.
Supervisor Rettig – who is the one complaining – has voted to approve $1.125 million of that, with $350,000 ongoing annually. In addition, she wants to pay for a lawsuit that ALL of our legal advisors assure us we cannot win.
Supervisor Rettig was the ONLY Supervisor who wanted to spend a great deal of money to do TSA-style security at the Admin Building. Curiously, she was also the ONLY Supervisor to vote against the Public Health request for an additional Disease Prevention Specialist. Any person educated in public health will tell you that this position is critical to fighting COVID-19.
The Board of Supervisors is more than happy to discuss any spending decisions with the public. But the public does not listen to meetings. They read snippets on Twitter and Facebook. Those are often poor representations of reality.
Don’t believe my version of events? Check with Supervisors Porter, Green Douglass, or Heiden. Seriously. Reach out and ask what they think.
Do we have more pressing issues? Of course. But one Supervisor started this campaign of misinformation. At some point, the rest deserve to be able to defend ourselves.
*DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County has nine unincorporated villages: Cosgrove, Windham, Frytown, Joetown, Sharon Center, River Junction, Morse, Oasis, and Sutliff.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"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.
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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 10:43 AM
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