Historic Preservation Program is Setback Three Decades

In the proposed fiscal year 2012-13 austerity budget for the City of Independence, the Historic Preservation Department has reached an all-time low.  In fact, we are now approaching the level of funding that City Hall put in place in the mid 1980's, during an era when the demolition of historic buildings were considered a religious sacrament and appointments to the Heritage Commission were selected to make sure historic preservation did not happen.  The current budget proposed for Historic Preservation is only $45,856 compared to the budget 10 years ago of $174,112 under the leadership of Mayor Ron Stewart and City Manager Larry Blick.  The proposed budget today is one-fifth of what it was then (accounting for 10 years of inflation).  And back then, we had a viable M/TRC Neighborhood Revitalization Program and an active city-wide not-for-profit for preservation working diligently to preserve and revitalize our historic neighborhoods.  Mayor Stewart even received an award for his leadership in turning the historic community around and making things happen.  Boy, those were the days!  Today, we seem to be struggling in both old and new areas of town.  And our struggles in the new parts of town are draining resources from Old Town, with little hope for changing priorities.  During this budget crisis, one would expect to lose a few years of progress.  But three decades?  I've always heard that a community that forgets its past is doomed for failure.  Maybe that's part of the explanation of the current state of affairs in Harry Truman's hometown.