Fort Collins Now
January 2009
Have you heard? Everyone (and I mean everyone) is dedicated to the “economic health” of the City of Fort Collins. How do I know? Well just listen to the rhetoric of the candidates. Look at the city’s web site. Read the city budget.
Nearly every speech, every department and ever expenditure includes a line about “improving economic health”.
What’s going on here? Well, back in November of 2005, “Improve Economic Health” became a part of the official policy agenda for the City of Fort Collins. Unfortunately, no one thought to define what “economic health” actually is, or just how the city might go about improving it. As a result, the term “economic health” has been hijacked. Lower taxes, less red tape, better roads? Not necessarily, according to the city. More like bicycling, golf and air quality.
In fact, “economic health” is now being used to justify almost everything the city can think of to spend your money on. The stretched logic (bear with me here) holds that anything that makes the city a better place to live also serves to attract new businesses. Therefore (I warned you that this was a stretch), just about anything that the city spends your tax money on is really about “improving economic health”.
Bicycling? According to the city, it’s all about the economy: “Bicycling provides incentives for people to visit, relocate and establish businesses in Fort Collins, enhancing sustainable economic development.”
City-run golf courses? According to the city, our municipal golf courses “help encourage the economic and environmental vitality of our World Class community.”
How about recreation? Here’s the city: “The departments within the Cultural, Library, and Recreational Services (CLRS) area work with citizens to provide community enrichment that enhances life and contributes to the economic viability of the City of Fort Collins through education, leisure, and beautification.”
Charging you more to throw away your trash? Somehow that’s about the economy too: “The pay-as-you-throw system is important to the community because our environment, the local economy, and your family budget all benefit.” (You might want to re-read that last one. I’m pretty good a deciphering bureaucratic lingo, but I can not for the life of me figure out how charging me more to throw out my trash is good for my “family budget”.)
Perhaps the most skilled at the technique of inserting a few lines about the economy in order to justify spending are the environmental activists.
Direct from the city: “Natural areas make Fort Collins an attractive place to do business.” (I just held a staff meeting up at Soapstone Ranch last week). Air quality is “critical to … economic health”. (And human health.) Climate Wise “strengthens our local economy.” The city’s forestry programs “improve economic sustainability.” And don’t overlook “the economic and environmental benefits provided by an attractive and green landscape that is believed to be desired by the residents of the community.” (That’s right, water conservation programs mean that more water can be used for landscaping and people find landscaping attractive and so there will be economic benefits… or something.)
Perhaps the most audacious hijacking of the economy took place in the city’s newly-adopted Climate Action Plan. Whoever was tasked with adding the “economic health” parts to that document completely mailed it in. They actually cut-and-pasted the same bullet point about the economy over and over again throughout the document.
One of the “Other Benefits” of expanding Climate Wise? “Support local businesses and stimulate economic development.”
One of the “Other Benefits” of developing a Community Climate Challenge? “Support local businesses and stimulate economic development.”
One of the “Other Benefits” of joining the Colorado Carbon Fund? “Support local businesses and stimulate economic development.”
One of the “Other Benefits” of a 50% waste diversion goal? “Support local businesses and stimulate economic development.”
A benefit of climate protection itself? You guessed it: “Support local businesses and stimulate economic development.”
How? That’s not so clear.
So maybe over the next few months, as candidate after candidate mouths platitudes about how they support “economic health”, a follow up question (or two) might be warranted.
After all, they might be talking about golf.
