NK: Investing In Dog Park; Cutting Fire Budget

Something is seriously wrong in North Kingstown.

Recall that the town is mired a bitter battle with its local fire fighters, trying to get them to work 24-hour shifts and take an average $5 an hour pay cut. And also remember that the school department fired every school custodians this summer only to hire them back at a lower wage with worse benefits. Like the firefighters face, the custodians took a $5 an hour pay cut.

In both instances, elected officials cried poverty. School Committee Chair Kimberly Ann Page even wrote that she feared having to choose between paying janitors a living wage and keeping the school heated.

But while schools struggle to stay warm and public sector employees are being denied a decent living, the dogs in North Kingstown are doing quite well. According to North Kingstown Patch:

At Monday night’s town council meeting, Town Manager Michael Embury proposed a possible location for NK’s first dog park. Though it’s not a priority, Embury says that many residents have expressed interest in having a dog park in town similar to those in South Kingstown and Newport.

Embury said he could have the department of public works director look into the cost creating a dog park at the location, including fencing and maintenance.

 

A town can’t have money to make a park just for dogs and not to pay its employees a living wage. It’s bad government, poor politics, atrocious economics and horrible humanity.

There’s no reason public sector employees should have to live in poverty, especially not if the taxpayers concerns include too much poop at local parks.