Poverty, Prejudice and Oppression

At Monday night's St. Augustine City Commission (April 10), the Episocopal priest led a prayer, asking that our Commissioners work to alleviate poverty, prejudice and oppression. We're still praying for them today.
All five City Commissioners refused to discuss those issues when I questioned them.
Vice Mayor Burk interrupting me angrily when I discussed the fact that West Augustine residents pay 25% more for their water and sewer services, while the City refuses to discuss annexation of this underserved, primarily African-American area profiled in Jeremy Dean's documentary, "Never Walk Alone."
The Vice Mayor tried to say that my concerns were irrelevant to the proposed utility ordinance under discussion. I had to explain amendments and parliamentary procedure to her -- the fact that a utility fee ordinance could be amended to deal with other utility concerns, which is whyI was also requesting that the City do something about the Time-Warner Cable franchise (it expired two years ago), asking that the City establish a municipal electric utility (like those that serve Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Orlando and 25% of Floridians). It was also why I had asked that the City Attorney be directed to file a complaint on behalf of the City and its residents with the Public Service Commission over overcharges by Florida Power & Light (which the NY Times reported March 15th is charging FPL customers five cents on every dollar for federal income taxes (which FPL does not pay, actually getting refunds) . I objected to the Vice Mayor's tone of voice.
At one point, there was a move toward the podium by St. Augustine Police Officer Barry Fox, who stood in the middle of the room, as if he were waiting for a signal.
At the conclusion of the meeting, I asked our City Commissioners to place extirpating prejudice, poverty and oppression on the agenda for every City Commission meeting.
Speaking of alleviating poverty, prejudice and oppression, our City of St. Augustine needs a Living Wage ordinance for City employees, contractors and franchisee employees. Living costs are spiralling and the City government is indifferent. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and our "leaders" won't even talk about it.
When a Canadian billionaire's entourage slashed Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum and Tour Train employees' hours and eliminated their health care befits, Messrs. George Gardner and Donald Crichlow told Folio Weekly that our City "does not have an oar in that water," showing their lack of knowledge of the City's power to oversee its franchisees.
Writing for The Collective Press, I got the Canadian billionaire on the telephone in 30 seconds --- he said he was unaware of the local pay and benefit cuts, which no one had told him about before. I related this to our Mayor and Commissioners, none of whom have ever expressed any interest in calling him at all, as if supporting workers (instead of developers) were somehow beneath their status).
Since December, 2005, I have spoken out in support of a Living Wage at the last eight City Commission meetings.
Not one Commissioner has moved to direct that there be any work on a Living Wage ordinance.
As St. Augustine gentrifies, "affordable housing" is becoming an oxymoron. I've asked Commissioners if their intention is to make it impossible for working people to live here. As is customary, they won't look me in the eye and they won't answer questions.
The people of our City of St. Augustine deserve better than for our government to be run like a bad banana republic in an old Hollywood movie.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. rightly called the City of St. Augustine "the most lawless City in America." 20,000 cubic yards of contaminants in the Old City Reservoir is merely a synecdoche -- a part that stands for the whole thing.