Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Councilman Nicholas Ibarra Explains Vote Against use of Stimulus Funds

"At this time, I believe that accepting any stimulus funds will be a detriment to our sovereignty as a city...."

If you haven't taken a look at Councilman Nick Ibarra's Web log, "Zone 1 Matters," you are missing out on some true transparency on the part of an elected official.

After the discussion in Council chambers last night about three bills concerning improvements to the intersection at James River Freeway and National Avenue, Mr. Ibarra and Mr. Bailes voted against the second in a series of three bills related to the issue (see: Council bills 2009-115, 2009-116, and 2009-117).

2009-116, which still passed with a majority of Council voting to support it, authorized the City Manager to enter into a cost participation agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC) for the intersection improvements. Part of that money will be received from the federal government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Under 2009-116, the City, by it's approval, has agreed to abide by the provisions of the ARRA.

Ibarra laid out the reasoning behind his legislative decision to vote against Council bill 2009-116 in an entry at his blog, this morning.

For future reference, a permanent link to the Councilman's Web log is in the sidebar here. There is also a permanent link to Councilman Robert "Bob" Stephens blog in the sidebar, however, Mr. Stephens is not updating his blog as regularly as Mr. Ibarra.

Related: "Donations extend pools' hours News-Leader.com Springfield News-Leader"

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