To the editor:

After attending the last City Council meeting on Aug. 16, I decided I just had to write at least one more letter.

As you most likely know by now, there will be three questions on the November ballot that the citizens of Great Bend will be able to vote on. These are important issues that need your input. I would like to encourage everyone to get registered to vote if you have not already done so. The deadline to do this is Oct. 12. Please don’t wait until the last minute to register.

Many of our First Responders were also at the meeting so I know it is important to them. We need to get registered and get informed about the issues.

Question 3 on the upcoming ballot will give the council the option to choose which program, the current retirement program or KP&F, which is what most of the cities in the State of Kansas offer.

While Councilmember Alan Meeder stated that he would not support KP&F as he feels this is a plan we cannot afford 10 years, 20 years down the road, I tend to disagree.

As Councilmember Junior Welsch pointed out, “not” considering the KP&F Plan would not solve the problem of rapid turnover within the Police and Fire Department.

KP&F offers a guaranteed retirement package and also offers accident coverage as well as other offers the current plan does not.

Now, for my opinion ... I feel we need to change the way we are doing things. It is time to quit training people and paying for that training only to lose them to other departments in our state. Keep in mind that we are paying for all this training only to lose them to other departments without receiving any compensation for that training. To me this is a real waste of taxpayer dollars!

It’s time to do the right thing and show our First Responders that we appreciate the risk they take each and every day to make our city safe. Other cities do! We need to show up at the polls and back them.

Get registered and then “Vote” so that you know that you did your part in making the final decision.

Thanks again for your time.

Marge Bieberle

Great Bend