As you have probably noticed, it has been awhile since my last post. This is not because we have given up but rather because there has not been much to update. However, this past week we were able to get a glimpse of the recommendations coming from the reorganization committee. You can find a copy of their initial draft here:   Reorg-Comm-Status-Report-9-21-09-Final

Please take a few minutes to read through this initial draft. You will notice that there are not a lot of details at this point, but you will also start to see where the proposal is heading. Rather than give you my opinion now, read the draft and formulate your own. I encourage you to go to the reorganization meetings, ask questions and receive answers straight from the committee, not through hearsay, conjecture or media outlets. Challenge them on the details and more importantly, provide them with suggestions. Despite what you may have read or heard, this group (of normal citizens just like us) has put a lot of effort into the reorganization effort. We owe it to ourselves, and frankly to them, to take a few minutes out of our day to read what they have and will be proposing. While reading the plan, remember this, you could be looking at the future of our area.

I have said all along that I am for our area being incorporated, one way or another. Why? First, our community pays a large portion of the taxes collected by the county. Those same taxes are then spread like peanut butter across the entire county, with a disparate amount being returned directly to us. In other words, we subsidize the other townships of Johnson County. If we become incorporated, our tax money will come back to us. Secondly, and this is harder for some to grasp, but without proper planning and focus, our area could someday become less desirable to live in than it is today. When this happens, our property values will begin to drop. Right now, we only have two choices: reorganize with Greenwood or not. The self-incorporation effort has always been intended to provide a third option for us.

Since my last post, several of you have contacted me expressing your desire to participate in the self-incorporation effort. If you have volunteered, I will be touching base with you in the next few weeks. Remember, we have plenty of time. The public vote is not until May next year. Meanwhile, please consider my advice above. Read the reorganization plan, ask questions, and get engaged.

Unfortunately, while I have received hundreds of emails expressing support and a desire to sign the petition, at this time we do not have enough volunteers to tackle the amount of work and due diligence that will be required to determine if self incorporation is a viable option for our area. While disappointing, this does not mean that we are giving up on the effort.

I will continue to accept the names of those willing to volunteer to participate on committees until we reach the critical mass necessary to move this effort forward, even if that takes another several months. One change we will make to the requirements for volunteering is that resumes will no longer be necessary. As long as you live in the area we are seeking to incorporate and are willing to volunteer your time and talents we will add your name to the list.

I want to say thank you once again to those who have volunteered. At times we get so wrapped up in our daily lives that we forget that “we the people” have the ability to enact change by getting involved and turning our words into actions. It is one thing to sign a petition and quite another to donate time and talent. So thanks again to those who have volunteered, and thanks in advance to those of you who will volunteer in the coming months.

While not expecting an open arms greeting, I was expecting to engage in an open dialog with lots of questions.  That did not happen.  Instead, the council informed me that it would be inappropriate for them to grant such a request at this time since they have already committed to the reorganization effort.  While disappointing, I understand and respect their decision.  If we were in their shoes, we may have the same viewpoint.  My personal opinion is that adopting such an ordinance would be a “win-win” for all parties.  But we all know what opinions are like.

I could have left the meeting defeated and made this post a “throw in the towel” rant.  Instead, surprisingly, I left the meeting feeling invigorated.  Perhaps it was the three emails I received on the way to the meeting from fellow citizens stating they wanted to sign the petition, or the two gentlemen that approached me as I was leaving the meeting who also expressed their support and willingness to get involved.  Call me crazy, but I am more motivated today than I was yesterday.

Every effort worth fighting for is bound to experience set backs.  It is how we react to these set backs that will ultimately determine the outcome.  While we were dealt a set back last night, I am more determined now to press forward. 

I have heard many say that we should have incorporated years ago.  I have heard this so many times in the last few months that if I got a nickel each time I heard it, I could fund the entire incorporation effort myself.  Unfortunately, no one can do this alone.  This is the reason we didn’t incorporate years ago.  It takes the efforts of many.  

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be looking at what it will take to form our own committees and begin studying incorporation on our own.  Stay tuned to the website.  We will post what the committees will be and how we plan to organize.  If you have suggestions, please send them to cgtown@gmail.com.  We will listen to all ideas and thoughts on how to proceed. 

We move forward with the knowledge that Greenwood can still in the end deny our request.  However, I do not want to say to myself a year from now “What if?” or five years from now “We should have incorporated five years ago”.  Now is the time.  If self incorporation is going to happen, we have one shot at it.  We will not have another opportunity like this again.  For those who still think that the status quo is an option, you need to look around.  We will become incorporated one way or another.  The decision we have to make is do we want to control our own destiny or do we want it dictated to us?  The choice is ours.  It is time for the White River citizens to unite.