by Managing Editor and Publisher

City Government Activities Are 24% Proper by Managing Editor and Publisher

Analysis of agendas items from January 2010 show 24% meet the definition of appropriate government activity in the public domain.

The agendas of our six local cities were surveyed and analyzed to determine what portion of items on the agendas are part of the proper role of government. The proper role of government is defined as police power and proper public access and right of ways. Of approximately 576 agenda items counted from agendas until June 1, 2010 this year, 136 were legitimately within the public domain. The 24% of items properly within the public domain were counted pro-rating agenda items that included two or more topics or were general such as taxes and budgeting, appointing committees, and administration. Excluded from the analysis were normal activities such as prayer, pledges of allegiance, award ceremonies, council comments and follow-up, approval of minutes, adjournment, and public comment.

Current activities fell into three categories: Priority Activities (Police Power and Proper public access and right of ways, 24%), Questionable Activities (Enterprise which can be accomplished by private individuals, 21%), and Very Questionable or Illegitimate Activities (Community Programs & Events, Recreation, Private Property Control & Business Regulation which force private individuals to pay for others benefits or control private property, 55%). The categories are based on whether the agenda item is pertaining to decisions concerning private or public domain according to true principles of liberty such as in the Constitution. Note: The activities themselves are not questionable or illegitimate – only as forced upon the citizens directly or indirectly.

We further divided the categories above into ten categories of activities and business conducted by our cities. By order of prevalence overall, the cities’ agendas included:

1) Taxes and Budgeting;

2) Private Property Control;

3) Administration;

4) Business regulation;

5) Services and event planning;

6) Utility business decisions;

7) Public access;

8) Police power;

9) Appointments; and

10) Recreation.

Together, the most common agenda items, taxes and budgeting, and private property control make up 40% of the cities’ agendas (each about 20 percent). The least common agenda item is recreation. The other purposes the cities include on their agendas are within other activities. Police power is the third least common activity, and is about 5 percent of the city agendas. Farr West has not had police power on its agenda this year, but it contracts with Weber County Sheriff’s Department for its law enforcement.

Each city tends to emphasize things a little differently. For example, Harrisville had almost three times as many agenda items for property control as did Perry. Harrisville, on the other hand only had one business regulation item compared to 22 for North Ogden. Some agenda items involved more than one category and were counted in each category. Please see the table here on our website (www.sentinelnews.net) for a breakdown of each of the ten categories by city, and to see how cities compare in appropriately taking care of items in the public domain instead of usurping rights and authority in the private domain.

“We strive to promote liberty by encouraging faith in God, promoting family values and by supporting and publicizing principles of the Constitution of the United States of America”