ANOTHER EDITORIAL FROM BIG VALLEY NEWS:

MADERA -  This morning in the Madera Tribune, James Glynn asks Madera citizens to file into the city council chambers tonight to save the Madera Old Timers Day Parade.

Now I love the parade as much as anyone. I haven't missed a parade in years I appreciate all the hard work the Madera Kiwanis Club does to bring events to downtown Madera like the parade, the wine stroll and the Halloween parade. The only question I have for Mr. Glynn is why do we have to save the parade that is already paid for with downtown parking taxes?

No where in Mr. Glynn's article did he mention the Madera Downtown Association. This is the city agency that charges business and property owners in the downtown area a special tax that is suppose to pay for parking lot maintenance and promotion of the downtown area.

The MDA used to have a staffed office downtown to take care of the promotion of the downtown area. That was closed years ago and is now handled in Pete's Sport Shop by Rochelle Noblett, a member of the Madera Kiwanis Club.

Despite all the "cut backs" in the budget of the MDA, the parking taxes are still being collected and its a lot more than the $1500 the police force will cost for the parade. It is obvious the money is not being used to maintain the parking lots with al the damage that has not been repaired in years. Now there is no money for promotions?

Aren't the parking tax dollars the city collects for the promotion of the downtown area enough to cover the cost of the police officers or barricades? Where is all this money going that the city collects from the downtown area?

This should be the question the city council looks into tonight. Where is the money being spent from promotional fund that the parking tax is mandated to fund? Has the city been using it for the general fund and if so when are they going to pay it back to the downtown merchants?

WHERE IS THE MONEY?