I am writing to respond to The Chapel Hill News guest column by Laurin Easthom ("Controversy stoked by those with other agendas") and editorial by Dave Hart ("Flap over benefits turns ugly") from Sunday.

Not to "pile on" the criticism of the Town Council, but I feel compelled to add my voice of concern about this most untimely and insensitive action on the part of our elected officials for long-term health insurance for its members. The concerns raised transcend partisanship, as suggested by Councilwoman Easthom, and simply defy common sense. I'm dismayed that our council could see this as a justifiable action in this troubling fiscal environment.

In the 10 years that I have lived here, I have continued to be amazed that whenever a funding issue arises in Chapel Hill, the council's only solution is to impose additional taxes on its citizens. While we have advanced several large capital projects, we have failed to develop a sustainable and healthy tax base to support them and the standards we have set for ourselves.

Other than new member Matt Czajkowski, I'm simply convinced that there is no other champion for economic development in our community. If appearances are any indication, it seems to be a concept that is foreign to the council.

Over the last few years, we have seen blight persist in town, as more progressive developers have turned away from Chapel Hill in favor of localities that are welcoming creative economic development. Why is this the case? I am dismayed that so many properties lay vacant or fallow for years before any action is taken, while the only real development is the Town Council sponsored project that will take away the only remaining significant parking on Franklin Street.

There seems to be a bias against progressive development, which has resulted in suppressing development of any type at all (with the exception of the new auto parts store at our gateway). The occasional store openings celebrated in town generally meet niche needs and bypass "bread and butter" needs of families.

So, we continue to get in our cars and drive to Durham (sometimes immediately over the county line), where we spend our tax dollars at Target, Wal-mart, Kohl's, Southpoint Mall and other retailers. As a result of this, a lot of tax dollars that could help Chapel Hill end up in Durham, and homeowners in Chapel Hill have to foot the bill as a result.

I think much of the reaction to the health insurance debacle is a lack of patience for a legacy of structural blight on Franklin Street and elsewhere in town, with undeveloped properties falling into decay. Meanwhile, Durham has millions being spent on downtown redevelopment (due to a lot of tax money coming to it via Chapel Hill shoppers). The two primary developers are young entrepreneurs who were trained at UNC's business school.

It makes you wonder why they don't invest here. Why are private equity investors putting their money in downtown Durham instead of downtown Chapel Hill? While I look forward to seeing a vibrant Durham, I don't think it should be at the expense of our town.

Is it any wonder that Chapel Hill residents would be upset that they were asked to fund health insurance premiums (something that many of us struggle to pay for our own families) for council members while seeing these same members do very little to really improve the quality of life for its citizens? When we want to take a step to build our town, the only solution the council seems to have in its quiver is yet another tax increase. It is simply a fait accompli.

After a while, even the most generous citizens get tired of digging deeper into their pockets to attempt to stem the tide of an untenable fiscal situation that has no prospect of getting better in the foreseeable future. No wonder so many of our downtown neighbors are jumping ship for Chatham County.

Let's hope that this issue has provided the council with the learning experience it needs to diversify our tax base and begin truly serving the citizens of Chapel Hill.