Municipal Foot Shooting

A local community, which grew like a weed, is having growing pains. With a money pit local larger city just across a bayou - and in a different county - the smaller community was a haven for those wishing to leave the problems associated with the larger city.

Thirty years ago, the municipal area was only a wide spot in the road. With two highways running through the area, and much old money, or timber land, for sale, developers jumped at the opportunity to build crappy streets, throw some tract house in place, and leave, while the leaving was good. Drainage problems developed, water and sewer, was a constant new demand, traffic increases outran the local highway system, and the schools were forced to spend their windfall taxes on new schools.

With the growth now reaching further out than many want to drive, and the loss of willingness by many due to the easily observed problems, the community is reaching out for more growth, but the fact they're reaching out means they're becoming worried about the beast. They thought they moved far enough away, but the beast they ran from is getting close.

Problems are rampant, but the biggest problem - in my opinion - is the almost complete lack of future planning. This problem doesn't any have single source for blame, but with the rapid development, there are drainage problems, infrastructure problems, access problems, and the erroneous belief by many: they were moving away from the problems of the larger city. Shrewd minds, smart development, and harsh decisions are demanded, but it's a municipality; such things rarely have people with those qualifications.

Most people won't face it, but municipalities are rarely run by those most competent. With restrictive laws, and restrictive regulations, an incorporated geographical area has mandates that few are willing to tackle. Any elected official probably is only a fair word merchant, with some money behind them, and their ability to find qualified help for the city is not only limited, it's almost a guarantee they'll hire a favorite over a qualified person. That, or follow silly equal opportunity regulations and place a person that's not only not qualified, they're arrogant with their ignorance, since their career only advanced because they fit some hypothetical model of diversity.

I'll watch this community, but from my perspective, the future will only be more urban sprawl, haphazard growth, infrastructure problems, and increasing crime. Otherwise, the same problems most of the citizens ran from, except the higher taxes, which are sure to come. Running a community costs money, and since they're usually run by mostly mediocre people, the costs can only go up, and the increase in taxes demanded, until everybody runs again.