The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Mayor Dennis Ballard once said that the city could hand out free bars of gold on Main Street and some people would still complain. It's hard to disagree with that wisdom. For a lot of residents, the need to speak out when things appear imperfect is deeply embedded within the psyche. We see this sentiment take shape all the time, from grumblings unleashed between friends over coffee to sharply-written letters to our city council. Nobody denies others have the right to fuss, but hasn't it gone just a teensy weensy bit overboard? It seems like virtually no decision Ð regardless of how necessary it is Ð can be made without a segment of the population getting ready to rise up and battle their oppressors. Okay, that last part is an exaggeration, but bear with me. I recall a budget forum hosted by the Flin Flon School Division a few years ago. The board planned to boost the special levy, which comes from local taxpayers, the following year, though the margin was hardly Herculean. Whether it was appropriate or unavoidable is, as always, open to debate. But at the end of the day, when it came time for the city to collect property taxes (as it must for both itself and the school division), the increase was microscopic Ð less than $1.90 per $10,000 amount on the value of a home. We're talking pocket change that most people wouldn't notice unless they were told about it. Nevertheless, education officials that night got an earful from a concerned resident who straightfacedly expressed doubt about being able to cover such a hefty hike. Opposing tax increases on principle is one thing, and of course no one is particularly fond of taxes. But come on. If an extra 83 or 84 cents a month is going to be the straw that breaks the camel's bank account, then you've got bigger problems than school taxes. A lot of people lose more than that between their couch cushions. Of course there are scads of other examples. A small team of volunteers donates hours of time to organize a community event and people complain that it was the "same old thing" or that non-attendees "didn't miss much." Back when we had parking meters, people would knowingly park without feeding the meter, get a ticket and then, you guessed it, complain loudly (something I witnessed a meter maid have to contend with on more than one occasion). Believe me, I used to be a regular parking ticket payer, but I was the first to admit it was my own damn fault. Even when the highway through town was being greatly refurbished, we heard at least some complaints about what a hassle it was. Never mind that it's made the entrance to our community about 100 times nicer. Some people just want the long-term gain without the short-term pain. There are so many complaints out there that it's hard to separate the legitimate from the frivolous. When so many decisions are so heavily scrutinized for so many reasons, it's easy to start dismissing everyone with a beef as just another complainer. Maybe we just need to stop getting so worked up about things. We have it pretty good in Flin Flon right now. Mining is strong and appears to have a bright future. People want to retire here. New businesses have been, or are talking about, setting up shop. Nothing will ever be exactly the way everyone wants it to be. Local Angle runs Fridays.
