The Falls

The honchos at the Spokane Regional Health District are going to cut $350,000 in four programs.

They’ll let us know what they are once the decision’s made.

There’s no sense in sharing the proposals with the public, apparently. District administrator Torney Smith said, “The budget is not built on a popularity contest.”

Just tune in later, contest-goers. Of course, some popularity contests work pretty well in our quaint little representative democracy. Popular elections come to mind. And lots of other public agencies like the district – which get their money and their mission from the populace – make their spending proposals public before adoption.

Sometimes they even listen to the people first. The people who pay the freight. The ones who are owed the courtesy, at least, of being listened to before they are ignored.