By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

New Hays City Commissioners Lance Jones and James Meier agreed, “it was very informative” to tour all the departments in the city recently.

“As a person who tends to be very cheap–although I’ll use the word ‘frugal’ because it makes me sound better–one of the things that struck me is what good stewards the various departments are with the public funds they’ve been given,” Meier said.

He gave the example of a situation at the wastewater treatment plant built in the early 1950s.  It will soon undergo a $26-$28 million EPA-mandated update which must be in place by 2018.

“I saw things held together with duct tape,” Meier reported after their tour.

“Roger Moerke–the wastewater superintendent–I was really impressed with him voluntarily saying ‘We don’t know if this is going to make it the next 2 or 3 years or whatever timeframe we need for the new plant but if that happens, I’m sure we can rig something together so we don’t have to go buy a new one.’

“They really truly are, for the most part, looking out for the public good. They do realize that it’s taxpayer money and they’re trying to do good by the citizens of Hays,” Meiers said.

“People sometimes think there’s a lot of waste in city government. I’m not saying the city can’t improve–I think there’s always room for improvement,” Meier said.

“But it’s a good reflection on the departments, on the city manager, and on the city of Hays,” he added.