When the city takes on unnecessary and excessive projects, we all pay for it. Wasteful spending leads to higher rates, fees, and monthly bills. That’s part of why taxes and utility bills in Gillette keep rising.

A growing share of those bills is fixed, which means families are paying more regardless of how careful they are. Over time, those added costs stack up and become harder for residents to manage.

Better decisions start with being disciplined about what the city takes on and making sure projects are worth the cost. When spending is managed properly, city services become more affordable and predictable for everyone.

Some of the biggest decisions in Gillette are being made before the public has a real chance to understand or weigh in. By the time issues reach the agenda, the outcome is already decided, and public comment has become little more than a formality.

We’ve seen closed-door discussions, non-disclosure agreements tied to major projects, and situations where the full council is not part of the conversation early on. By the time the public is informed, the focus has shifted to explaining or selling a direction instead of working through it in the open.

Decisions that impact the community should be made in the open, no NDAs, no closed-door meetings, and real public discussion before they are finalized.

City government exists to take care of critical infrastructure, water, sewer, streets, and the services people rely on every day. Those needs should come first.

When the city stays focused on needs over wants, it can do those core things well and build strong, reliable infrastructure. That’s how a city remains stable, affordable, and well run over time.

When that order gets flipped, the city takes on more than it should. It pulls time, attention, and resources away from those basics and leaves residents paying for decisions they didn’t ask for.