I'm catching up on my Bee reading after being on vacation. I see many of the headlines have to do with taxes and cuts regarding the city. The mayor says that part of his temporary tax increase will fund public safety. I also read that the Modesto Police Department wants to hire a consultant to study the partnership with Stanislaus Regional 911. They are considering spending as much as $50,000 out of its budget to hire a consultant.

Let me make a suggestion on how they can save some money. All a consultant will do is look around and talk to some of the employees of Stanislaus regional 911 and maybe a few other people. Since the people who do the job should know best how it works and what it needs, maybe we should form a committee of former directors and the current director, a representative of each stakeholder, plus a few current employees. If there are problems with the way things are currently working, I think our people can figure it out and come up with solutions without spending all that money on a consultant. If someone wants out of the JPA, just say so. You don't have to justify it with an expensive consultant.

Some people may find it offensive for a government official to say we don't need approval to spend the money. While that may be true, I think they have forgotten where the money came from to start with. It's taxpayers' money, and they should be good stewards of it. If you want me to vote for a tax increase measure, show me that the money is not going to be wasted.

ED WASHINGTON

Modesto