Overkill -- Unneeded -- Redundancy -- Better Uses

According to its website, Lakewood is now “seeking a consultant to develop a Climate Action Plan (CAP) for both the municipality and community at large.” Our City government wants to spend up to $100,000.00 of your hard earned tax dollars to develop an “action plan,” not only for Lakewood, but to include the “community at large.” Lakewood, itself, is part of a “community at large” known as Cuyahoga County which already has its own Climate Action Plan.  I’m sure the county would share its Plan with the City at little or no cost. Does our City’s government think that the County’s plan is inferior?

May 15, 2019 Cuyahoga County published its Climate Change Action Plan: “The Cuyahoga County Climate Change Action Plan is an effort to set targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions, implement and track actions to meet targets, and adapt to climate change across the county.” Ohio University has undertaken establishing an action plan for dealing with climate change. The United States Government has for some time been engaged in efforts to deal with climate change. Why should Lakewood spend a large chunk of tax dollars for its own action plan when it would simply be an overkill? Lakewood’s area is less than 2 hundredths of one percent the area of Cuyahoga County. The Cuyahoga County community, of which Lakewood is part, already has a Climate Action Plan. 

Lakewood would be better off using the proposed action plan money to help pay some of the millions of dollars required to update our sewer system.  Lakewood actually needs that project. Lakewood citizens will actually benefit from an improved sewer system that would help stop sewer backups into our homes as well as improving water purification. A climate action plan by Lakewood is not going to save the world, or Lakewood for that matter. A better sewer system, however, will improve health conditions and quality of life in Lakewood.