Mr. Honick’s guest column calling for a public hearing (“A public hearing would help uncover the truth,” Feb. 6) is very timely. Mr. (Dominique) Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, says the advanced economies of the U.S., European Union and Japan are now in a depression and he “cannot rule out the worst”.

A depression is characterized as being both longer, around five years or so, and deeper than a recession. Studies of recovery from depressions of the current sort, absent a world war, indicate we can expect another generation to arise before economic plenty returns.

Those forecasting our city’s revenues should take Strauss-Kahn’s comments to heart. Apparently we face not just a few quarters to a year of fiscal pain but many years of acute revenue shrinkage and then many, many more years enduring a painful recovery. Our representatives should plan accordingly.

Mr. Honick’s call for the city to step back, take a deep breath and set priorities accordingly is excellent advice. Having a public hearing structured to not seek scapegoats, as he desires, is a fine first step. The goal is to use what may be learned to deal with our grim future effectively.

I see a major part of the city’s budget problem as the steady accretion of non-mission related tasks. Mission creep, in other words. This bloated job list should be sharply pruned to the basics then the staff should be neatly matched to the tasks.

Those tasks concern public safety, safe water supplies, sewerage treatment, storm-water management and infrastructure maintenance. Other jobs not vital to the city’s survival are best omitted or left to the private sector, other levels of government and non-profit organizations to fund.

The city’s voluminous planning efforts seem a little pointless in the face of no growth. Perhaps it’s time to stop thinking we’re wise enough to micromanage the affairs of our present and future citizens from City Hall and just leave them alone to be responsible for their own lives and property.

I strongly second Mr. Honick’s call for open public hearings to air the economic facts underlying policy decisions.

Albert Greiner

Bainbridge Island