July 12, 2011 — For years now the mantra in City Hall has been there is no money and like cities throughout the state of California, the city officials seem to place the blame squarely on Sacramento.

While the state doesn’t have a clue how to keep the budget under control, the fact is that the city of Susanville also has an obligation to make sure its fees match its services. Sometimes that means charging use fees for parks and recreation.

Recently, the Susanville City Council voted unanimously not to charge an adult softball league $600 for maintenance of Riverside Park though one league member admitted players leave cans on the field after games so a man who frequents the park can pick up the cans for recycling.

League spokespeople said teams are having a hard time getting business sponsors or teammates to pay fees to be on a team. Being a member of an adult recreation team is a choice, not a necessity. It should not be something the citizens of Susanville should pay for and that is exactly what is happening. City employees have to spend extra time maintaining Riverside Park after league games because adults cannot take the time to leave the park better than when they found it. Isn’t that a message we have learned since we were children? If every player and fan walked out of the park with what they brought in and more, then we could see waiving a maintenance fee. Until then, anyone who uses the park needs to pay part of the city employee’ salary for cleaning up the mess he or she left behind.

The council has an obligation to its citizens to use its finances wisely and giving free handouts to every group that is having a hard time raising money is not a good use of taxpayer money. If every youth organization can raise money to continue their leagues, nothing less should be expected from the adults.