“The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.”
Citizens are rightly infuriated that the “fix” for this financial hole put forward for Rocky Mount’s $30 million shortfall centers on cutting people and payroll.
At least 10% of full-time employees and half of part-timers will be laid off, with non-essential projects frozen and hiring halted. City leaders point to years of over-hiring, roughly 200 new positions in four years.
While officials stress they will protect essential services, the burden of recovery is falling squarely on city workers’ jobs and salaries, a reminder that responsibility trickles down when fiscal mismanagement comes due.
That challenge lies before us. Rocky Mount cannot rewrite its history, but it can outgrow it by building new trust, new leadership, and new care for one another.
Justice won’t only be measured in balanced budgets or court rulings, but in how we choose to add what is better, in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and the way we live together as a community.
I LOVE this Berry quote…..we escape only by adding something better. That’s the work that must flow from this moment of reckoning. May the auditors find those responsible for these crimes so something better can be added.
PS: Yesterday I paid tribute to Keith Harris and his excellent summaries I have read on my Facebook feed. Today I want to do the same for Cody High. I haven’t met him but what he has written about attending the Ward 1,2,3, meeting is exceptional. I recommend both these Rocky Mount commentaries to you.
Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin grew up in Evanston, IL. and is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. She is an author of two novels: The Greening of a Heart and Facing East. She lives, writes and gardens in NC. Visit her: Stephenyhoughtlin.com
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Main Street Rocky Mount 