Elk Grove City Council Mulls Cuts to Disabled Transit Services
Lost between the simmering emotions of a juvenile sex offender home and tensions between its members, the Elk Grove City Council heard a st...
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2010/07/elk-grove-city-council-mulls-cuts-to.html
Lost between the simmering emotions of a juvenile sex offender home and tensions between its members, the Elk Grove City Council heard a staff report during its Wednesday, July 28 meeting on possible cuts to service for disabled transit riders.
The city's e-Van service, part of the Elk Grove's e-Tran transit service, offers specialized service for disabled members of the community. Like many other government entities, cuts in service are being discussed as the city grapples with the financial strains of the Great Recession.
Reporting to the city council was city transit manager Tiffani Fink who presented several options for the council to consider as part of proposed service cuts, also soft peddled as "service adjustments." While the council deferred its decision, they heard strong public comment from several e-Van customers.
Amongst regular users who spoke on possible "adjustments" was Ted Clark of Elk Grove. Clark, who is visually impaired, recounted some of the service pitfalls blended with self-effacing humor. (see video below)
Clark also urged council members to take a ride on the service so they can fully appreciate the challenges riders face in their day to day life.
"Before you make a decision and change peoples lives's, come to an e-van ride along," Clark said. "Meet the people, get to know the people of the lives's you're going to change."
We fully agree with Clark. The true measure of Elk Grove's city government is not whether or not if things are conducive or convenient for real estate developers, but rather how we look out for those most in need.
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In looking to pull up the Agenda item for this on July 28th I notice that the minutes of the Elk Grove City Council meetings have not been posted for about two months. Does anyone know what that's all about? Too busy having lunches with the Queen, parties for employees birthdays, developers and realtors on the cities dime?
"The true measure of Elk Grove's city government is not whether or not if things are conducive or convenient for real estate developers, but rather how we look out for those most in need.
A profound statement, and one which I've come to appreciate only in the past several years...not because I've come in need of government services, but because I've come to believe that how we help those who can't help themselves is the true measure of a society.
Those tens of thousands of $18,000 combined tax credits for new buyers of new homes, relative to the cost of disabled transportation services...that
$100,000 per year for five years to the Hyundai dealership in the Elk Grove Auto Mall, relative to the annual maintenance of one e-Van...that $500 to the first 500 buyers of new cars last August, relative to the cost of one trip by one disabled rider...
A car dealership might have fallen out, might have gone bankrupt, yes...but in a city so extraordinarily car dependent as Elk Grove it's hard to imagine that no other dealership wouldn't have taken its own risk in locating here at some point. Yet, for the disabled, who cannot so easily negotiate this extraordinarily car dependent city, they are being increasingly marginalized as we spend $15.00 to keep $10.00 in new car sales tax revenues coming in.
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