Attention Lawrenceburg residents, in case you missed the ad in our papers the city council is going to hash out the revised additional appropriations budgets for the riverboat and municipal development funds at 4:30 p.m. Monday, June 25.

You can find that budget proposal along with past budget proposals on our website just go to click on the E-Editions button on the right side of thedcregister.com and each year’s budget will appear. The budgets go from 2008 to the present.

Sorry, but I only have 2008 through the present handy for us to put online.

The women in the clerk-treasurer’s office are a little busy at the moment dealing with various requests from council people and consultants to have me adding to the work load by asking for prior years’ budgets.

The revised riverboat and MDF budget additionals have money coming out of two line items to cover a one-time property tax “refund.” In theory it is a good idea, however, the city should have perhaps held off until next year.

Instead, there’s been six months of bickering and arguing, and guess what?

Folks in other parts of the state have noticed. And guess what else? It won’t be long before the state starts taking another look at the goose with the golden egg - Lawrenceburg.
At the workshop meeting Monday, June 11, I raised a question and then stated a few things. I’m going to repeat them here.
1.) Why did the financial advisors (Reedy Financial out of Bloomington) see fit to note that several items were listed as additional appropriations, but they hadn’t been in information received for March and April?
The items are run-of-mill book keeping corrections government entities and businesses do all the time. Our newspapers get and run these corrections as legals (as required by Indiana law) all the time.
Some are for pass through accounts money that isn’t “Lawrenceburg’s” and some are to correct a voided check or a double payment or other common occurrence when running a city or county or town etc. where there are multiple departments.
2.) Lawrenceburg is the only city  in the state with a casino that has a “development” agreement. That development agreement is where the bulk of they city’s money comes from. The Lawrenceburg Conservancy District, charged with maintaining the levee and it’s elaborate pump systems and ponding areas, is the other beneficiary of said agreement.

So let’s give Lawrenceburg a black eye and draw attention to ourselves.

I’m tired of being told I don’t know what is going on in Lawrenceburg. I do, but sometimes you have to sit and wait for things to come to a boil.

Things have been boiling for six months, now is the time to turn down the heat and reduce everything to a simmer or better yet take the heat off entirely.

The residents of Lawrenceburg also know and have known what is going on - as evidenced by the number of people at meetings over the past six months.

There are many good people involved in the city and many who want what is best for it, but bickering is not what is best. Airing all of the city’s dirty laundry isn’t either.

The problem is in all politics/political entities there are always those who have agendas or an ax to grind or who have friends - from the people in the audience at a meeting to the people sitting on council.

So the solution, at least temporarily, is to be open but to find common ground and stop airing everything at one time. Openness is good.

There are fines coming for intentional obstruction of access, and those are welcomed by me and any other journalist and activist, but there are times when we have to find balance and reason.

This is a time for balance. So people of Lawrenceburg, read the budgets, go to the meeting and tell your council people what you want. And council put some of this stuff on the back burner.

I know there is a lot you want to accomplish, but you have three and a half more years. Use them wisely.

Erika Schmidt Russell is editor of The Journal-Press and The Dearborn County Register.