Recently there have been a number of postcards going out to residents to alert them to  various events in the city, from ground-breakings to town hall meetings, park parties, etc. This is something fairly new that our government has initiated; not only alerts to notify citizens of the Chief of Police or other officials speaking but things more in line of self-publicity. Stuff that you don’t necessarily need to know about or see or attend. Given this, I was curious what this is costing the taxpayers who foot the bill for these postcards. City Hall is rarely forthcoming with information on how they’re spending your money. If you want to know that you can either attend meetings and call Councilpersons up or, you can make records requests, like I do. I thought these postcards sent out to citizens were curious and so sought the information. Here it is:

                                YMCA Groundbreaking

              Cost: $2155 (includes postage)*

The question is: why did they want/need citizens to come to this? It was merely a ceremonial event with media and a speech by the Mayor. Was this worth the money when curbs throughout Whitehall are crumbling?

                   Domestic Violence Awareness Month

                                    Town Hall Meeting

                           Cost: $2230.46*

From the Auditor’s communication:

“There is no budget for mailings, they are paid from various accounts. You’ll note that some mailings were much cheaper than the others, they are targeted to the area. All of the mailing were postcard size, some larger than others. From the Park Fund were San Jose Park party $312.95, Lamby Lane Park party $680. From Park Misc. John Bishop Park Party $615. From Public Relations Dog Park $403.58, Leaf Collection $2523.75. From Contingency YMCA $2,155, John Bishop Grand Opening $608, Town Hall $2,230.46, Park Summer Events $6200 (these were not mailed). My records do not say how many postcards were in each purchase. That averages out to $1,191.22 for each of the 8 mailings.

*City of Whitehall Auditor’s office