Letters, 7/15: Mayor makes prudent calls

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Harley Pfeiffer’s letter regarding Mayor Chris Beutler and the city budget seemed more aimed at scoring political points at the mayor’s expense than thoughtfully addressing the challenges our community faces.

He accuses the mayor of not being a proficient manager because of the existence of a $10 million fund. It was the mayor who discovered the special assessments fund had more money than needed and asked the law department as to its legal uses.

Pfeiffer lays the budget problem at the mayor’s feet, suggesting that it is his fault that services have to be cut. The truth is that past city governments have not been paying their bills. It is the mayor whose prudent financial leadership has resulted in millions of dollars of savings through city department reorganizations.

The writer says the condition of the parks is the mayor’s fault without acknowledging that the minimum mow policies started prior to Beutler taking office.

Finally, Pfeiffer asks us to make the same mistake that got us into this budget mess in the first place. He advocates that we use the one-time money of the special assessments fund and the home ownership stimulus plan for ongoing expenses. As the mayor repeatedly has pointed out, that just deepens the deficit problem and jeopardizes the very services Pfeiffer wants to preserve.

Instead, the mayor has prudently chosen to invest those funds in economic development and job creation, a top concern for myself and the community.

Jerrod P. Jaeger, Lincoln

Confession of a Dew drinker

In regard to comments made in last week’s City Council meeting:

Dear Councilman Camp:

I am not unemployed, but I do ride the bus every day. Most everyone I see on board appears to be either going to or coming from work or school.

I am afraid that I was the lowlife spotted drinking Mountain Dew at the bus stop. I’m sorry.

Ron Feyerherm, Lincoln

Private air travel defended

I am writing in regard to the opinion “Jets come with high cost." In reading the column, I became a little angry at the implication that the travel troubles and so-called strain on the air transport system are a result of private air travel.

As a pilot of private jets, I can assure you that we pay our fair share of taxes and airport handling charges as well as landing fees. The fact that a Boeing 757 pays $2,015 in taxes while the Gulfstream pays only $236 should not surprise you because the Boeing is many times the size of a Gulfstream and burns more than 10 times the fuel. Taxes are based on a number of things, and fuel burn is one of the big ones, as well as gross weight of the aircraft and type of flight, the number of passengers, etc.

The use of remote airports is a primary way to reduce the so-called strain on the “overcrowded” airports. These airports are often in large cities that have multiple airports, such as Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix and so on. They provide jobs for thousands of people all over the country as well as the world.

Duncan Aviation has been my employer for more than 24 years, and we do all that we can to provide safe, secure and efficient travel to all who use us. I cannot speak to other operators, but I can assure you that we screen our charter customers.

Louis Gray, Hickman