Greetings! Here are the topics for today’s commentary:

• Great Falls Public Library
• Proposed Rate Increases
• Core Beliefs
• One More Thing

GREAT FALLS PUBLIC LIBRARY:

Hooray for the Great Falls Public Library!

The Great Falls Tribune is reporting that the Great Falls Public Library will be open seven days per week starting in June. This is the first time in a decade that the library has been open seven days a week.

The Tribune reports that on June 6, 2023, city voters narrowly passed an additional 15 mill property tax levy to add roughly $1.6 million annually to the Great Falls Public Library’s budget. Because of the way property taxation is structured, the library only began receiving extra funding from the measure after the first of the year.

I supported the library levy.

Additionally, Library staff told the trustees last week that the library has already recruited seven new staff members, including two security personnel, two part-time clerks, one full-time and one part-time youth services specialists, and one information technology assistant to expand library services in Great Falls. All the positions are expected to be filled by the middle of April.

Congrats to the leadership of the library for their work to make the Great Falls Library one of the best in the state.

You can read the complete article from the Great Falls Tribune HERE.

PROPOSED RATE INCREASES:

It appears that the Great Falls City Commission will stick it to the citizens again and raise the rates for water, sewer, storm drain, and sanitation.

It’s not a done deal just yet. The Electric is reporting City Commissioners were asked this week to set public hearings for May 7 for proposed rate increases for water, sewer, storm drain, and sanitation. If approved, the increased rates would become effective June 1.

I’m pretty sure that any rate increases asked for by city staff will be approved and probably approved unanimously by the commission. We’ll see if any commissioner wants to fight for the citizens instead of going along with the crowd.

The Electric report can be found HERE.

CORE BELIEFS:

A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that despite the country’s deep political polarization, most Americans share many core beliefs about what it means to be an American.

The poll found that about 9 in 10 U.S. adults say the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law and the right to privacy are extremely important or very important to the United States’ identity as a nation. The survey also found that 84% feel the same way about the freedom of religion.

The AP also found that a more pessimistic assessment of the country was reflected in another finding — that only about 3 in 10 Americans believe the nation’s democracy is functioning well. About half say the U.S. is a poorly functioning democracy, while 14% say the U.S. is not a democracy.

Is this a great country or what?

Check out some of the other interesting findings from the poll HERE.

ONE MORE THING:

I enjoy reading Dear Abby and was ticked off when the Great Falls Tribune stopped carrying it a while back.

Now I get Dear Abby sent to me via email every day. It’s free. Go to THIS LINK and a little way down the page on the left is a subscribe box. Put your email address in the box and hit subscribe.

While you are there, check out the April 3, 2024, column “Disturbing Secret Revealed as Farmstead Changes Hands.” Wild!

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