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REGIONAL NEWS & INVESTIGATIONS
PO BOX 161702, Duluth MN 55816
Email contact@duluthmonitor.com
Phone (218) 391 - 8791
- All rights reserved.
Is the city going to provide the $187,298, so the zoo can “pay down its debt”?
Probably.
It’s a biblical jubilee. Debt forgiven, everybody’s happy. Except you, apparently.
I assume all councilors are mandated to have a fiduciary duty to the City of Duluth. If I actually lived and paid taxes in Duluth, I would send this article to all the councilors and question whether Resolution 850 puts the best interests of the City first.
The fact of the matter, I assume, is that the zoo is running a deficit and the City will need to subsidize it to keep the zoo operational. The problem with the Resolution 850 is that it is not transparent and raises questions of subterfuge and board integrity. Get the overage into the open and deal with it openly. There are probably only one or two board members who actually understand what’s happening here. Who drafted the resolution? Has the City’s chief financial officer weighed in?
I always let councilors know what’s happening with stuff like this. Yesterday, I sent them all an email explaining what was going on with Resolution 850. They are going to approve it regardless, probably by a vote of 8-1, with little or no discussion.
The Council does have a fiduciary responsibility, but much more important is their political responsibility. A state senator is running the zoo; that means the zoo has to stay open. End of story. The agreement was drafted by Senator Simonson and Chief Administrative Officer Noah Schuchman. Any concerns coming from people like me are simply ignored, as evidenced by the fact that not a single councilor responded to my email. This is Duluth.
Semper Idem
You should go into business manufacturing rubber stamps for the Duluth Council. They seem to be in constant use.
I think they should host a series of educational programs in conjunction with the schools, different levels of education based on the grade they’re working with.
They could focus on biology, environmental science, migration, habitat, etc…
Then they could qualify for (more?) educational grants, and as part of the educational system, the city and state can budget for it without the three-card monte, and taxpayers can get a visual on where their money is going.
Transparency is important with tax money.