Editor, Manteca Bulletin,
In spending $20.1 million for improvements in this city, I think some of the priorities are bad choices. It seems as though spending over $500,000 on a picnic shelter and a parking lot for Vince Hernandez’ neighborhood is extravagant.

None of our neighborhood parks have shelters, but we don’t have Hernandez in our neighborhood. Then the council plans to spend a large sum on upgrading the council chambers. I personally don’t think this is a good choice in projects. It seems like a lot of money has been spent already on improvements in Library Park, but this council is locked into spending more on this park.

 It is a crime the way this city spends on low priority projects, while we have a small rundown animal shelter that is nothing less than an execution chamber for little animals.  The mayor and council should make a tour of this facility and witness dogs being euthanized on a daily basis. It is apparent we need a changing of the guard in Manteca in order to ever have a chance of getting our needed infrastructure in this city.

 Councilman Hernandez spent over $1 million on the Moffat sidewalks for a few residents to walk on while ignoring the animal shelter.

I have always been conservative in my life and I expect city representatives to be conservative with our taxes as well. It appears like this the mayor and council haven’t got a clue on budgeting or making our actual needs a priority. Eight deficits and a ninth one for 2010, is proof of that. We need a mayor and council that spends on an even parity with our needs. This would be something new for this council to try.