As I browsed through the www.joplinglobe.com looking for events for this weekend I came a cross this article with the title of "City issues statement on use of tornado relief money for concert". According to the article Joplin is going to be having a concert on Sunday in honor of the 9-11 and the May 22nd tornado disaster. This event is going to cost the city approximately $60,000. The city borrowed the money from the disaster fund to pay for it.
My first impression was outrage and disappointment.This emotions continued as I read the article. After reading that the city posted a statement on Facebook, trying to reassure the public that 100% of the proceeds will go directly back into the foundation that they borrowed the money from I was in disbelief.
I was outraged at the fact that the city felt that they had the right to use the relief money for this concert. Apparently, a country singer named Travis Trent will be performing. According to the article they needed the money to " secure the entertainment". I know for a fact there are a lot of small bands that are in our surrounding area that would have probably jumped at this opportunity. Why didn't the city contact them instead of paying so much for this once popular singer? After reading this article, I would rather pay a few dollars to see a no-name act then go to this concert. I am disappointed that the city officials don't realize that there are still people in need of assistance. It is hard for me to believe that the city remains focused on rebuilding Joplin and helping it citizens if they are essentially robbing the citizens of the help they may still need.
I hope the community members fallow though and are able to get sponsorships and the anticipated donations will cover the concert costs. I hope that the money truly does go back into the fund. Perhaps with all the human outcry about the use of the relief fund money the city officials will think twice about squandering it again.
That is ridiculous! I don't think that the people who donated money to this relief fund intended it to be spent like this. I agree there are many local artists who would have contributed, but there are probably even a few well known artists who would have done it for free. This gesture doesn't speak very highly for Travis Tritt, I would have been impressed if he was been doing this out of the kindness of his heart instead of accepting money meant for tornado victims.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of the above people. The only thing that I could think of is the City of Joplin was hoping that they would make more than enough money to pay back the fund and put more money into it or into the rebuilding process.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked too. For the city to take that liberty of just "borrowing" those funds was completely wrong. I can't help but wonder if this will make a lot of people maybe think twice before they make any more donations to the City of Joplin for the tornado relief. I don't think I would feel comfortable with it at this point. How will we know if our dollars are really going to support those we intended?
ReplyDeleteA lot of people are angry about this. This is ridiculous, I wonder who made the final decision on this, but they should be fired. So unethical.
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