Opinion: Running The Meeker Household

Part One: Every Family Needs More Than a Budget

By V · July 15, 2026 · Opinion & Letters

Vice Mayor Mike Orman has compared running the Town of Meeker to running a household several times over the past few months.
I actually think that's a great analogy.
So let's keep going.
Before I do, let me be clear about one thing. I'm not suggesting that the people of Meeker are children. I'm simply extending the analogy that was already introduced. If we're going to think of Meeker as a family, then the Board of Trustees becomes the parents—or the heads of the household. The Town Administrator, Police Department, Fire Department, Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Authority, Public Works Authority, and other organizations become the responsible adults within that household. The residents are the family the household exists to serve.
In a healthy family, the parents aren't expected to do every job themselves.
They don't mow every lawn, wash every dish, cook every meal or repair every faucet.
But they are responsible for something much bigger.
They're responsible for deciding where the family is going.
They're responsible for making sure everyone understands the plan.
They're responsible for making sure every important responsibility belongs to someone.
And they're responsible for leaving the family in better shape than they found it.
That last part is important.
Because none of us gets to take any of this with us.
Not our homes.
Not our businesses.
Not our farms.
Not our town.
The only thing we really leave behind is what the next generation inherits.
That got me thinking.
We all know stories about people who suddenly come into money: lottery winners, professional athletes, actors, musicians; people who make more money in a year than most of us will earn in a lifetime.
And yet, years later, we hear the same story.
The money's gone.
Why?
Usually it isn't because they didn't have enough money, it's because they never developed a plan for it.
Money doesn't build a legacy.
Stewardship does.
Now think about families you respect.
Not necessarily wealthy families.
Families that have built something lasting.
Maybe it's a farm that's stayed in the family for generations.
Maybe it's a successful small business.
Maybe it's simply a family that's known for hard work, integrity, and leaving things better than they found them.
Those families argue.
Every family argues.
The difference isn't that they never disagree.
The difference is that the family has a destination that's bigger than the disagreement.
The budget follows the destination.
Not the other way around.
That's where I think Meeker is struggling.
I don't think we have a budget problem.
At least, I don't know that we have a budget problem.
I think we have a planning problem.
The Town may ultimately prove that another one-cent sales tax is absolutely necessary.
If that's the case, then let's have that conversation.
But before we ask the family for more money, shouldn't the family know where it's going?
At the first town hall, residents were told the Board would return with a breakdown explaining how the estimated $9,000 per month—roughly $108,000 each year—might be spent.
That was a reasonable promise.
At the second town hall, Trustee Aaron Head deserves credit for bringing something to the table.
He presented a handwritten breakdown showing one possible allocation of those funds.
He also repeatedly clarified that it was his idea.
Not the Board's.
Not something the trustees had discussed together.
Not something that had been reviewed or prioritized collectively.
Almost immediately, other trustees made the same point.
This wasn't the Town's plan.
It was Aaron's rough draft.
And I appreciate his honesty.
But that's also the problem.
After months of discussing a tax increase...
After multiple Board meetings...
After one public town hall...
After promising residents a breakdown...
The Town still didn't have a Board-approved answer to one simple question:
If Meeker receives another $108,000 every year... what is the first thing we fix?
Not Aaron's answer.
The Board's answer.
After the meeting a budget was provided to a resident who'd requested it.
I'm glad it was, budgets are important.
But budgets and plans are not the same thing.
A budget tells us where money can be spent.
A plan tells us where money should be spent.
A budget says:
Payroll.
Utilities.
Insurance.
Fuel.
Repairs.
Equipment.
Professional services.
Capital outlay.
A plan says:
Here are the three water lines most likely to fail.
Here's what it costs to replace them.
Here are the buildings that need repairs.
Here's what happens if we don't fix them.
Here's the priority list.
Here's the timeline.
Here's who's responsible.
Here's how we'll know we've succeeded.
That's a plan.
One of the strongest arguments made in favor of the tax increase involved Meeker's water system.
Residents heard that if DEQ were to examine the current condition of the water or sewer system, the Town could face serious consequences.
If that's true, then I think the water system should be the very first conversation.
Show us the engineering report.
Show us the inspection.
Show us the deficiencies.
Show us the cost.
Show us the timeline.
Show us what grants have already been pursued.
Show us what grants remain available.
Show us what has already been repaired.
Show us what still needs repaired.
And perhaps the biggest question of all...
How much would it cost to move away from what has repeatedly been described as a temporary dependence on purchasing Shawnee water and return Meeker Lake to being our primary water source?
Would that require rebuilding the treatment plant?
Replacing pumps?
New intake structures?
Transmission lines?
Engineering studies?
Permits?
How much?
Five hundred thousand dollars?
Five million?
Ten million?
I honestly don't know.
And that's exactly the point.
If that's the problem we're trying to solve, then that should be the center of the discussion.
Instead, we received a budget.
A budget is permission to spend money.
It is not a roadmap.
That's what kept bothering me as I left the meeting.
Families don't become successful because they balance this month's checkbook.
They become successful because they decide where they want the family to be ten years from now—and then they build the budget around that vision.
I don't yet know what Meeker's ten-year vision is.
I know we have concerns.
I know we have needs.
I know we have dedicated people serving this community.
What I haven't seen is the family plan.
And until I understand where we're going, I honestly don't know whether another penny is too much...
...or not enough.
In Part Two, we'll continue the household analogy by talking about house rules, ordinance enforcement, and why saying "it's too much work" may be the most expensive decision a family can make.