Maybe I am missing something, but charging over 2 million dollars annually to Provo city departments would lead one to expect a resulting $2 million dollar decrease in services we receive from fire protection, police, library, parks, recreation, trash collection, water, sewer system, roads, sidwalks and other departments. I always understood that a major purpose of municipal government is to provide these services. What will be the real effects of this idea? How is this a solution to the problem? How would these funds be replaced to the departments? As taxpayers, this concept should concern us.

"Each ... city department can be considered to 'own' a part of the city-owned fiber network," Dawson wrote, "and should pick up a cost of the network so that the network is there for them in the future as they need it."

Let's keep this simple. First off, does Parks and Recreation own part of the Police Cars that patrol the park? Does Building and Planning charge Parks and Recreation when it reviews plans for a new park?Government Departments and for that matter, Governments in general own NOTHING. Everything operated, controled or titled to a Government is owned by and for the people. If a department pays for iProvo usage it is the taxpayers who pay for the usage not the department.

Wake up and smell the Postum Provo. The iProvo Emperor has no clothes. Taxpayers are subsidizing this mistake plain and simple. And now they try to pull the wool over our eyes with accounting tricks?

The bottom line is this will mean more taxes for you and I.

How much longer must us citizens of Provo carry the burden for the poor decisions by this Mayor and the poor management by Garlick? It is obvious what they have been doing is working and yet they have made no significant changes. Now they want to "charge each department?" So, where is the 2 million dollars going to come from when they are already in at least a million dollar budget shortfall for this year and at least that much projected for next year (and I am NOT talking iProvo). This is the City's general budget. Not too mention they are now without a Treasurer or Assistant finance director they quietly "let resign" a week ago with no explanations other than a good employee is now walking the streets, his family no income, and why? Because of poor decisions and management.

This consultant has some strange ideas. Provo City Government is there first to serve the citizens of Provo. If the service providers are productive and provide good customer support, I am sure the staff would be very supportive. It must be hard to watch your livelihood threatened by poor attitudes and a lack of performance when there is little that you can do about it. The service providers have it all, a great network to ride on, no requirements to perform, a degree of exclusivity, and all the opportunity they can handle. They don't even need to pay their obligation to Provo City it would appear. If they don't get it. If they don't understand the advantages of one of the world's first all fiber municipal networks, then they might fail. City staff hand holding won't make them successful.