Steve Mensing, Editor
♦ A few days ago I came across an email in my Freedom of Information Act inquiry responses from the city of Salisbury, N.C.. The individual writing the email expressed a form of patriotic loyalty aimed at a city government. In all my years of living in urban areas I’ve never owed any allegiance to any municipal government and never knew anyone who did until I lived here. I’ve lived in Philadelphia, PA, Denver, Colorado, and elsewhere.
The fellow writing the email said his dedication remained with the Fibrant. He went on to write that his dedication was not based on Fibrant’s offerings or services, but more as a citizen of Salisbury, supporting his local government and keeping his business local.
The Salisbury municipal government loyalist expressed sentiments I’ve never heard anywhere. While in my hometown Philadelphia, I was involved in local municipal politics and mostly thought well of Philadelphia’s city government. Yet I never felt any patriotic allegiance toward Philly or even thought about keeping my business local.
Knowing what I know about the city of Salisbury’s municipal government and the way they conduct business I can’t imagine supporting the current city government and their municipal broadband Fibrant. Not happening. From what I’ve seen in my six years here, the city of Salisbury government was disloyal to many of its citizens and wrongfully terminated employees.
I won’t support Fibrant’s TV and phone, that’s a certainty. Not only is the TV overpriced and lacking in TV everywhere apps and in certain channels, you get double-dipped on any services you purchase from Fibrant. Not only do you pay for the subscriber’s price, you also pay hidden Fibrant costs in your taxes and water/sewer bills. Because Fibrant is failing, the citizens of Salisbury have many important city services cut back including fire fighters, police, streets department, and groundskeepers.
Funny thing about keeping business local, many local citizens work for AT&T U-Verse, Time Warner Cable, DISH, and DirecTV, pay taxes and utilities in Salisbury and purchase products and services here. They add to our tax base.
