I would like to start out by saying thank-you to the residents of Ward 3 and all the citizens from all around Franklin for their support and the honor to serve on the Franklin City Council.

Instead of using this time to elaborate on how unbelievable the city and its leaders treat newly elected officials — I’ll discuss that worthy topic in another article — for now it will be just the facts and one question.

The question is, if you were dying of thirst, and the only one willing to share their water with you, you perceived as an enemy, would you die before accepting their help to save your life?

There are City Council members who would rather die than accept that I have been elected and have an achievable accelerated economic recovery plan to turn our city around.

The plan is called VSCI, and if adopted by the City Council, will immediately create hundreds of new jobs and pave the way to greater financial independence for every citizen. My only priority is to work diligently on behalf of all the citizens of Franklin.

Citizens of Ward 3 and citizens throughout Franklin that I have spoken with say that they are tired of the direction the city has been going in for some time now. We the people deserve the right to expect our city government to use its power to protect the citizens from financial predators, not be the primary financial predator.

If you’re like most people, I know you pay more money to the City of Franklin than you do to any other one creditor you owe, and you never pay them off. When you break it down, how many times does the city take your money in a day?

Let’s see, there’s food tax, for example, fast food tax, grocery tax, restaurant tax, pizza tax, tax on your sub, too. There’s entertainment tax, cigarette tax, beer tax, cable tax and Internet tax, which could be called a business tax.

There is a tax for getting your hair done or a tax on buying the hair to get it done, a gasoline tax, phone tax, personal property tax, electric fees, water fees, sewage fees, trash fees and a separate fee for your trash can.

This money is collected from most everyone I know.

What about permit fees, late fees, business licenses, dog licenses, traffic fines, parking fines, trash fines, code violation fines, cost of court fees, and land and equipment rental fees?

Then there’s every other product you buy covered under plain ol’ sales tax. The city gets a little piece of every cent you spend, or from everything you buy or use in this city.

Let’s not forget the state grants and subsidies, the federal grant and assistance moneys; don’t be deceived. The city gets plenty of money from citizens. In fact, the citizens are its only customers, and now it wants to impose a new vehicle license fee. Does it ever end?

The problem is in the wasteful ways they spend your money; our leadership lacks the creativity to generate new revenue desired except from the pockets of the citizens. There’s a difference between supporting the city and being a slave to it, or being taken advantage of by any business, including the city.

I believe the city should work for and serve the people, but it seems to me like in reality the people are working as slaves to the city. I also believe that it’s the responsibility of the city to promote financial and social independence, creating opportunities for economic prosperity for its taxpaying citizens, residents and visitors.

The time is now for the people of Franklin to demand that your elected officials join together and step up to the plate to change the direction of Franklin. The time has come to reverse the status quo and embrace a new modern future of prosperity.

I want to encourage the citizens that there is a recovery plan available now, and a new deputy in town — a councilman who is determined to stand up to the status quo with a voice of the people. The time for new jobs is now; the time to stop wasteful spending is now; the time for change is now.

After all the people of Franklin have paid and been through with this city in the last 10 years, change is not just deserved by the citizens of Franklin; it’s owed with interest.