The weekend edition of one of the local papers has yet another picture of Mayor Logsdon accepting a plaque from a magazine declaring Peachtree City one of the top 10 places in the U.S. to retire.

Why then are Logsdon and the City Council considering so many ways to degrade it, all in the name of saving it from the economy crisis?

One of their plans involves removing plants from subdivision entrance ways so that less maintenance is involved. We will be left with sparse landscaping all over town.

Another plan involves outsourcing jobs currently performed by Peachtree City employees. We know how this works. Some companies will contract the services of folks who will work for a very low wage. These people will replace current employees who in many cases have a long history of employment with the city and who live either here or nearby.

Take, for example, the proposed layoff of 23 people who landscape areas all over Peachtree City. They take pride in what they do. They live here; they get to see the benefit of their work and they have friends and neighbors who enjoy it too.

If they are laid off, not only will we not have their experience at their jobs, but they will no longer be able to afford to live here. We will have more houses in bankruptcy or homes and apartments unrented, and they will no longer be spending and paying taxes here.

How can the city even consider trying to save pennies when so much will be lost by across-the-board firing of employees?

I’m not saying that people should not be let go; my argument is that more thought ought to be used in the choice of who is to be fired.

It is likely that there are employees who, for whatever reason, are not performing to the standard required for their position. There are also situations where more employees have been hired than are necessary to perform the job.

Where these occur in administrative positions, the salaries are, of course, greater. The city could save a good deal of money if there was careful scrutiny of all the employees.

No one can know for sure how much money will be needed to get our city through this monetary crisis. I think that rather than going for the quick fix, “fire city employees and outsource,” that many options should be considered.

Taxes may have to be increased slightly, major expenditures may have to be postponed, perhaps non-profit-making facilities of the Tourism Association should be sold, and we should be more careful about spending city money in frivolous ways such as the mayor and city manager’s recent tour of China.

We need to be cautious. We do not want to find ourselves at the end of this monetary crisis with a Peachtree City so changed that we are no longer worthy of receiving awards and so changed that those of us who have chosen to live here will regret our decision.

Bonnie Mullikin

Peachtree City, Ga.