When asked for alms for the poor, Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol replies, "Are there no prisons? I help to support the prisons and the workhouses -- they cost me enough -- and those who are badly off must go there."

Our Collin County commissioners would have us believe that Collin County is made up of all Scrooges. They ask us to believe that any attempt to provide health services to our less fortunate is, as Uncle Ebenezer remarked, "picking my pocket."

Our commissioners, in Scrooge fashion, dismissed the Interfaith's low-income health clinic proposal this month. The commissioners were notified that over 100 supporters of the clinic would be taking off from work to be in attendance, but the court declined to move to a larger room. After refusing to allow most of the 150 citizens who showed up to attend the Commissioners Court meeting, County Judge Ron Harris said of the proposal, "We just don't think we have the money."

Faced with the prospect of ever-increasing costs of rural ambulance service, and after going through five ambulance companies in the last five years, a group of rural mayors asked the commissioners court for help in funding a countywide ambulance service. Last week, Commissioner Joe Jaynes told the assembled 25 mayors, "I expect zero support on this idea from my counterparts."

In protesting a grant to the privately funded Plano Children's Clinic and Collin County Adult Health Clinic, Commissioner Jerry Hoagland noted that, "These kind of people always come back asking for more."

Now wait a minute! Our Scrooges seem to have enough to pay for Mr. Jaynes' tuition to Southern Methodist University Law School; they seem to have enough to pay for Mr. Hoagland's $8,000 (so far this year) in self-help classes. They have enough to fund a new PR department. The truth is that the only ones coming back year after year for more money are our elected commissioners.

Now, we are asked to build more prisons and courts. ...

In November, we will go (once again) to the polls to vote on three county bond proposals. One of the three is for $76 million for Phase 1 of a new courthouse, additional jail space and an addition to the juvenile justice facility. I don't deny that we need more courtrooms, but do we need so much?

The original planned bond package was much, much bigger, but the county, afraid of scaring off the voters, divided the courthouse project into multiple phases. This year we get to approve only the first phase. In a year or two, more will be revealed and asked for after the first $76 million is spent.

The county has prepared a nice-looking color brochure defending the bond proposal. The brochure explains that the courts utilize all eight of the courtrooms in the county courthouse. Scrooge would have found great pleasure in knowing that the old Collin County Public Hospital building is also used as a courthouse. That's kind of like turning your plowshares into swords.

The commissioners explain that the bonds can be sold and paid for without raising taxes. No new taxes, and a new building, too! Wow! What a deal!

Now I ask my county commissioners, how is it we can afford millions of dollars in interest on $76 million of debt without a tax increase, but not $285,000 to help our poor get decent medical care?

The truth is, we can afford to help, and our commissioners simply refuse to do so. They'd rather build jails and courtrooms, and let the poor go to the new jail if they are so needy.

I believe, and at least 150 of our citizens believe, that our priority must be to provide basic, decent health care for all our citizens. County government can't do it all, but it darn sure can do something. Many of our fellow Texans believe that public health is important enough to pay for, and they do so by supporting public hospitals in virtually
every large county in the state. So can we.

Until such time as our county is willing to fund real health care assistance to our citizens, I will vote no to any jail or courthouse. I urge all who believe as I do also to vote no.

Maybe after a visit from the Ghosts of Elections Present and Elections Yet to Come, our commissioners will have a change of heart. I pray that it be so.


Bill Baumbach is a resident of Wylie and one of six Voices of Collin County columnists. He can be reached at bill@baumbach.org. He is not a member of Plano-Area Interfaith. A different Voices columnist will appear every Friday.