The following is written by Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow:

Our Public Works crew was working on Mason Street last week and found something unusual:a hollowed out log was buried in the ground (bark and all), the remnant of an old water line. It was a good reminder that, like most cities, Sumner has to balance constantly increasing demands for service with old, outdated infrastructure.  We do a great job, recently getting funding to replace the outdated Bridge Street bridge and expanding the Wastewater Treatment Facility.  But, I confess that it’s an ongoing battle that to our staff, our council and even to me, often feels like that guy who was doomed to roll the boulder up the mountain.

All of us agree that we want good services.  We want sidewalks in good repair, roads without potholes and safe, clean water.  We want parks to play in and a picturesque community that we can be proud of. We want a Police department to be ready when we call, but we also want to know that they’re successfully solving cases to remove people dealing drugs and stockpiling guns in our community.  (Yes, they recently did just that.)

Our expectations have greatly changed since the day when the City of Sumner hollowed out that log, stuck it in the ground and called the water main good to go.  The challenge is always balancing the funding for our growing list of expectations and wishes against a constantly limited budget. Our staff works hard to find efficiencies and cut costs, but providing services continues to outpace our revenue.  So what’s the solution?  Do we lower our expectations for service or do we raise our revenue? Just as school and fire districts must raise revenue and pass budgets to provide services for our community, so must a City.  I am proud of our City and the services we provide.  I think it’s important that we work together and continue to support those things that make Sumner a great place to live.