By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos
Some years ago, I was standing outside the Los Alamos USPS and a lady remarked to an acquaintance that Los Alamos County (LAC) had the highest per capita income of any county in the USA. Having lived in large and small communities, I was singularly unimpressed with the lady’s statement.
I understand that there are some affluent residents who live in Los Alamos County. A “very small minority” of these affluent folks remind me of plantation owners from the 1860s. Some of the more affluent folks during the American Civil War were excused from military service (that is, some plantation owners as well as some wealthy Northerners). Therefore, affluent persons did not end up getting shot or being sent to prisons like Andersonville, Georgia.
There are some less-than affluent residents who live in Los Alamos County. Some of them wait in line when the Food Depot distributes food in LAC. A large majority of soldiers who fought for the Union and the Confederacy during the American Civil War were of humble estate and perhaps some owned a small farm which they looked after themselves.
I watched the Zoom presentation where the Los Alamos County Council effectively shut down Anna Dillane’s petition related to Nuisance Code Enforcement issues (for example, the biased Quality of Life Survey). Because it was a Zoom presentation, I had the opportunity to look at the interiors of what appeared to be residences belonging to County Council members. There was no evidence of what I would describe as less-than affluent living conditions. The residences did not appear to be government-type houses, homes from the Denver Steel area, apartments, or mobile / modular homes, etc.
It is disturbing when LAC Council members babble about the tightness (that is, the close fit) of car covers) on inoperable vehicles / vehicles undergoing restoration, etc. This is unabridged nonsense.
I have to wonder if there is a single LAC Councilor who does any minor or major mechanical repairs on his / her own motor vehicles.
I have always believed that it is important to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to appreciate the joys and hardships experienced by others.
There are people of ability and conscience at all socioeconomic levels in LAC. Some residents are retired, and some residents are currently employed. Many residents have worked hard for what they have, and I respect their efforts whether they are affluent or less-than affluent.
What I do not respect is a lack of fairness and saddling less-than affluent residents with harassment and Los Alamos County Municipal Court Costs. I also do not respect the use of LAC officials to “gang-up” on folks of limited financial means in LAC Municipal Court. It is also unfair to have residents sign any kind of waiver to an attorney in order to have their case heard in LAC Municipal Court.
Los Alamos County collects property taxes and receives Gross Receipts Tax revenues from LANL. It is not an unlimited amount of funding, but it is certainly sufficient to put less-than affluent citizens in their place.
It would please me if the LAC would use some of their affluent funding to help offset the financial impact on less-than affluent residents. Adverse impacts on such residents include the expense of clean-up efforts, trash / junk hauling costs, trash / junk disposal costs, some residence repair / rehabilitation expenses, and the cost of rodent extermination (pack rats, mice, gophers, etc.), the cost of car covers, and LAC Municipal Court expenses.
If the LAC Councilors are so enamored with Nuisance Code Enforcement, they can vote to pick up the tab for Nuisance Code Enforcement requirements (that is, the Nuisance Code Tax on LAC residents). It beats the practice of constructing duplicate LAC Municipal swimming pools. It is also consistent with the concept of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In short, it is time to emancipate the slaves from Los Alamos Nuisance Code Enforcement (that is, all safety, health, and aesthetic issues). It begs the question, “If the slaves are not free, are we free?”
