They just can't help it...

Addiction can be a terrible thing. When were first married, my wife worked at Reid Hospital as a Respiratory Therapist. She tells of a man who was given a tracheotomy, and continued to smoke cigarettes by holding a lit one next to the plastic tube coming out of his throat.

Some habits are extremely hard to break. Knowing that, I was pleased when the Hagerstown Town Council decided at its April meeting not to renew its membership with the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (IACT) last month. Apparently IACT felt the need to increase its dues, and it was heartening to hear the town council president state that the council needed to start being more prudent with the way taxpayers' money was spent, in light of the projected upcoming revenue cuts.

Admittedly, I've never been a fan of IACT. As I've stated in the past, IACT offers nothing for taxpayers. It is fanatical in its support of new and higher taxes, and increased government power. So I was happy to see the council's decision to stop sending any more of our money to such an organization.

Now, I realize the town council is still spending public money buying and tearing down houses to increase the amount of government owned property and deacrease the amount of privately owned property in town. And I know that they have agreed to give 10,000 tax dollars to a consulting firm to study the feasibility of building an industrial park next to an industrial park. Still, I was happy to see at least one instance of some real hard-core fiscal responsibility.

But then, much to my chagrin, Tom Bredeweg from the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns showed up at the May meeting and asked the board to reconsider its decision not to renew its membership.

The board agreed to study more information and then reconsider its decision.

To which beleaguered taxpayers cry, "Stand firm, town board, stand firm!"