Letters to the Editor Policy
South County Newspapers welcome Letters to the Editor. Letters should be fewer than 400 words. Guest columns should be between 400 and 800 words. Letters and columns may be dropped off at South County Newspapers, 522B Broadway St., King City, CA 93930, or be sent via e-mail to [email protected]. All letters must be signed and have an address and phone number for confirmation purposes. We reserve the right to edit and condense all submissions.
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Not the council’s fault
I would like to give my opinion concerning the Sober Grad Night donation that was asked for on May 9 at the Greenfield City Council meeting. It is my belief that it was not the City Council’s fault that more or less money was not donated. Instead, I think that the Sober Grad Night organization needs to reconsider how it does its work.
There are several reasons why I think this that have to do with some of the points that one of the members of the Sober Grad Night organization made:
• They began fundraising in March, which means they started late. That is poor planning.
• The parents did not want to participate or donate money, time, etc. Even the parents are not interested in supporting the event.
• Greenfield businesses did not want to donate for the event either. This means that there is no support from them.
• Toyota no longer donates a car. This means that businesses outside of Greenfield do not support the Sober Grad event.
This leads me to believe that instead of complaining and criticizing the Council because they did not give the entire amount requested, it is time for the Sober Grad organization members to think about how they could be better organized.
I also want to mention that I saw the live streaming video of the May 23 City Council meeting, where one of the Sober Grad members criticized the Council. Even though I do not profess to have experience running any type of organization, I believe that any organization or business needs to have a system by which it keeps track of how money is spent. So does our City Council! Little in life is free. It is time that the Greenfield High School students learn a life lesson and some fundraising skills.
The Sober Grad Night organization should be grateful for what was donated and teach the students to do the same. A thank you is merited by all.
Maria E. Vasquez
Greenfield
Establish donation guidelines
The article “Council Donates $2,500 to Sober Grad Night” (Greenfield News, A1, May 17) is missing important questions raised by members of the public at the Greenfield City Council meeting. The major concern was the lack of process or requirements needed to be met to receive a donation. But first, we want to point out that no one at the meeting was against students having a safe night of celebration. Whether it is the responsibility of the Council to fund such an activity, that is debatable.
To some members of the City Council, the $4,000 that was originally asked for by the Greenfield High School Sober Grad Night organization seemed like a small amount. So why not give the organization the entire amount or more, as was argued by at least two Council members?
The problem is that it is not clear who can go to the Council to ask for money. The Council seems to have set a dangerous precedent. As one Council member pointed out, once you give to one group, you have to give to anyone else who goes asking for a donation. Otherwise, the Council may be accused of favoritism or discriminatory practices.
Should the Council continue giving donations, how will it decide what is a “worthy cause”? How much will be allocated in the budget for such causes? Will there be limits to how much can be asked for? Should those asking for a donation submit a proposal and adhere to deadlines? If the Council makes stipulations, such as ask for receipts and an explanation of how the money was spent, yet the group fails to do so, (which is what happened on at least one occasion when the Sober Grad group asked for money), what should be the consequences?
We hope that the Council and the Finance Administrative Services Director will work on a donation’s policy and establish a process and guidelines. This time the Director “found” the money in the budget to be able to make the donation. What about the next time? How the Council manages “small amounts” is very telling of how larger sums will be managed or mismanaged.
Jose Vasquez
Greenfield
4th of July in Soledad
The Soledad Fourth of July Committee is proud to announce that there will be a Celebration in the Park on July 4 at the Chester Aaroe (Little League Park) in Soledad, and it is hosting a Reverse Draw fundraiser to be able to fund all the fun in the park for this year.
The Reverse Draw will be held Thursday, June 15, at 6 p.m. at the California Gourmet Pizza location on West Street in Soledad. Tickets for two, including dinner, cost $60 and include a chance to win $1,000 and help a very important local cause. Limited tickets will be sold, so please call Pauline Tomasini at 831-678-3379 to reserve yours.
Thank you all for supporting Soledad and her 2017 festivities in the park.
Lucy Jensen
Soledad
