Phenix City, Complaints and Reality.... Phenix City has plenty of critics, whether it be on the streets, in restaurants or on Facebook its a steady stream of unending complaints, assumptions and accusations. It really doesn’t matter what the subject is, it is met with instant criticism. Before I get into this I want to address the past which comes up on a regular basis especially with the Columbus elitists, clean up your own mess before you start making fun of, or putting anyone else down. Columbus is thought of as one of the most miserable places to live in the country, it has a very high crime index score, a very dissatisfied police force that has constant turnover because of poor pay and treatment, a public hospital in meltdown and pockets of serious education issues, so enough already. Sure Phenix City has a colorful past but last time I checked there were not any illegal gambling and houses of prostitution operating down around the Dillingham Bridge. I can tell you this, I feel much safer walking the Phenix City side of the Riverwalk. So lets address some of this criticism starting with the non-stop comparisons to somewhere like Auburm, Alabama. That’s a horribly unfair argument to make, first and foremost the City of Auburn has Auburn University, which has a $522 million dollar endowment, an administrative staff of over 1,200 and 25,000+ students, which equals 70% of the total population of Phenix City. Would having Auburn University in Phenix City make a difference? Of course it would. Having that advantage gives Auburn an advantage in Economic Development, Education, Tax Revenue, Real Estate Value and anything else that helps a city standout from the rest. Now give credit to the City of Auburn for taking full advantage of that relationship. The problem is theres inequity everywhere, look at Mountain Brook and Erwin in Birmingham, one a model of success the other struggling to survive, same region of Alabama yet stark contrasts in success. So we cannot treat things uniform, they simply are not. Is this a School Board Issue, absolutely not, its a demographic outline they have inherited and worked very hard to correct. Teachers, grossly underpaid and often using their own resources are working hard everyday to try and educate our kids. Are there bad apples or lazy teachers? Yes, but there are lazy and under performing Physicians, Engineers and lawyers as well. Now lets address leadership, I can sum that up with one quick idea, if you can do it better, qualify yourself, run for office, get elected and privilege us with your brilliance. Its kind of like listening to a guy that’s only played high school football scream at Gus Malzahn or Nick Saban about running the wrong play or not playing a certain player, you sound ridiculous. It is a tireless job that these servants do usually on top of another job and I can assure you its not for the Salary and Benefits. Are they perfect ? No, am I? Hell No, so I try and figure out how to support and educate them on issues that are important to me so that we can work together. I live in Columbus and had several issues with the current leadership so I worked hard to try and make changes with many great friends and elect new leadership. While we did not win we brought light to many issues in Columbus so they can be addressed and hopefully corrected. Most citizens don’t take the time to educate themselves on City Issues and complain in complete ignorance. An example is when I lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas citizens threw a fit about upgrades to the local high School football facility, “ We are losing teachers and don’t have enough supplies for our kids.” While that was valid, the money was received through a state grant to upgrade Athletic facilities, the money could ONLY be used for that. The School Board didn’t make that choice, they applied for every grant they could get and that was the only one they got. They appealed repeatedly to use that money for teachers salaries and it fell on deaf ears. They were told use that money for how it was earmarked or forfeit it, so they used it. The Mayor, Council and School Board had absolutely no say in that but were blamed city wide with some even being threatened. I hear complaints all the time, well, nearly nonstop, but you know what I don’t hear is solutions. Complaining is a lazy man;s venue, anyone can do that, but those who work to solve and influence change are the real unsung heroes, they were willing to step out front and facilitate change. The responsibility of a leader is to define reality and become a servant to all. Peace, C
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 20:16:51 +0000
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