It appears that censorship in the name of positivity has cost the Oxford Downtown Development Authority (DDA) the writing services of one of its volunteers.
Betty Young, a downtown merchant and property owner, informed the DDA board during its Feb. 15 meeting that she will no longer be writing for the organization’s monthly newsletter because a crucial paragraph was deleted from an article she penned for the February issue.
‘As that newsletter was published, that paragraph was removed by the executive director, which I guess that is her choice. She is your staff,? said Young, who is the wife of DDA Chairman Mark Young. ‘It’s really not the first incident.?
The paragraph in question discussed how the Oxford school district is considering collecting all of its property taxes on the summer township bill as opposed to the current practice of splitting them 50/50 between the summer and winter tax bills.
She wrote about the impact this could have on the downtown and its businesses. The deleted paragraph read as follows:
‘If the Oxford Community Schools continue to pursue combining summer/winter tax collection into one payout by the local businesses, this may cause the independently-owned small businesses to close their doors. If taxes dwindle from the district, the Tax Increment Financing used for Historic Preservation of local communities will also dwindle.?
Young told the DDA board she wrote that paragraph because school officials need ‘to know what they do impacts the downtown.? She said it was meant to be educational.
Young, who’s written for the newsletter ‘on and off? for three years, indicated her words were deleted because DDA Executive Director Madonna Van Fossen felt they were negative.
Van Fossen didn’t comment on the deleted paragraph during the meeting, but when asked about it by this reporter, she said, ‘The overall context of that article was, I thought, negative, and I had four other people read the article, and it had a negative undertone.? ‘I want everything that comes out of this DDA office to be positive because there’s enough negative things out there that you report about, the newspapers report about, the television stations,? Van Fossen continued. ‘Our newsletter is our PR piece and it’s not a place to make judgments and/or comments about other (entities), for example, the school board and how they’re spending their money or not spending their money or what they’re doing with the taxes or what they’re not doing with the taxes.?
Van Fossen noted she made other changes to Young’s article besides removing that paragraph.
Young insisted her piece entitled ?2010-2011 Fiscal Budget Responsibility in Trying Times: What it means to a DDA? was ‘strictly informative.? Most of the article consisted of facts and figures regarding the economy, property values, jobs and the impact on local government revenues.
‘I do not feel the newsletter should be all about positive, cheerleader, rah-rah indications of our community,? Young told the board.
She said a newsletter should be a medium to ‘educate and inform? the public.
‘It’s not strictly for the board, it’s for the community,? Young said. ‘That newsletter goes out to the merchants and the property owners who may not even come to this meeting or who may not even watch it on TV.?
Young noted this everything-must-be-positive attitude isn’t just limited to the DDA newsletter. She’s seen what happens to others in this community who aren’t perceived as constantly positive.
‘Even our local newspaper seems to be ridiculed (by local leaders) for not always speaking positive,? she said.
A few DDA board members expressed their disappointment over Young’s decision.
‘I’m sorry to hear that you’re doing that,? said DDA member Paul DePorre. ‘You’ve done a lot for the DDA and the community . . . I think you’re a greatly under-appreciated person. I wish that you would reconsider.?
‘I really would like to ask you to take a step back and think about the value that you do bring to the community and try to find a way to repair that bridge,? said DDA member Don Sherman. ‘We can’t afford to have people that make contributions like you (do) to step away.?
Being a former reporter herself, DDA member Teri Stiles, who’s also the village council president, agreed with Young’s sentiments.
‘I’m totally in favor of telling the truth. I’m not in favor of just happy, rah-rah (reporting) from a newspaper or anywhere else,? she said. ‘I’m in favor of informing the community and I’m sorry that you’ve made that choice because I think you do inform this community and I think that you’re straightforward with the information.?
Stiles went on to say that ‘writing is about informing an entire community, not just a block of people or being influenced by just a block of people.?
DDA Chair Mark Young ended the discussion saying, ‘I guess if we want our hard news and information, we have to read the Leader.?