Beware of the crocodiles

The Whitefish library committee cites general mistreatment by the Flathead County Library System, assures the city that all other solutions are wrong, and urges the city to go it alone.

The committee promises the taxpayers that the state attorney general will look favorably on this maneuver and grant taxing authority to the city, but somehow neglects to mention the long and expensive legal fight sure to ensure with a county naturally protective of its tax revenues.

They reassure skeptics that necessary re-capitalization costs exceeding $800,000 will "easily be covered by the community." Yeah, right. Guess that explains why years after Whitefish began enjoying — and profiting by — the fabulous Whitefish Middle School auditorium project, stalwarts Richard and Carol Atkinson still face a lien on their home and a loan balance of nearly $200,000.

That explains why the proposed additional tax burden helped sink the Whitefish High School bond issue and kids are transferring to Glacier. That sure explains all the layoffs and cutbacks and frozen salaries in the community — lots of money just floating around these days.

The committee promises nearby county residents that although their tax dollars would henceforth support only distant libraries, these doughnut residents and their families wouldn't be treated as freeloaders. Except that libraries last a long time, and most adults have learned that today's committee members may not be there tomorrow, city council representation changes with the political winds, and the inevitably tight municipal budgets years from now may easily persuade new councilors to forget old promises and old timers and old philanthropists and again look at special "usage fees' for nearby county folks, a la last year's 'swipe card" fiasco.

The last city foray into a combative, go-it-alone posture with the county produced the controversial Critical Areas Ordinance, many thousands of taxpayer dollars of litigation and profound community rancor and divisiveness. This mess is only now being hopefully sorted out through mediation facilitated by commissioner Jim Dupont.

Perhaps it would be wise to learn from our mistakes and specifically ask Jim ahead of time if he has any collaborative ideas to resolve legitimate library issues of philosophy, heavy-handed micromanagement and lack of community sensitivity. Maybe it would be smart to try this first before diving into dark and expensive waters.

Andy Palchak lives in Whitefish.