Harbeson blows up Galligan

From Debbie Harbeson in the (Jeff/NA) News-Tribune...

Some local residents continue to be surprised at the comments that erupt out of Jeffersonville Mayor Tom Galligan’s mouth, but not me.

His most recent comment was in regard to his desire to take private property in the form of a wastewater treatment plant in the River Ridge Commerce Center. He said, “If someone is making a profit from a water utility, I don’t know why a municipality can’t take it and invest those profits in its own community.”

This didn’t surprise me because, well, he said nothing new. Government officials take private personal profit every day and then spend it in ways they deem important.

It doesn’t matter if individuals have other uses for the money, such as fixing a broken transmission, caring for a sick family member or throwing a surprise birthday party for a friend.

And as far as Galligan and the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns is concerned, it particularly doesn’t matter if someone has invested money in a private utility that is just starting to make money. As a matter of fact, that’s apparently their signal that it’s time to yell “Surprise!” and run off with the whole pie....