Back in 2010 Lazy Lightning interviewed Ryan Moe during his failed bid for Mayor of Apple Valley. It was during that time that the public was treated to Mr. Moe’s general dislike of government interference in the personal lives of individuals and small business. He was also interviewed by the Libertarian Party of Minnesota during his campaign and shared even more of his thoughts on how local government should operate:

Mr. Moe would also seek to ban the city from using Google Earth or satellite imagery to snoop onto homeowners’ property, looking for swimming pools, decks, or sheds. Furthermore, he’d like to end the permitting requirement for home renovations. A permit is now required even for replacement of a home water heater. He disagrees with home improvements being used by the city as a way to extract more revenue with permit fees and property tax reassessments, and getting to the root of the issue, he believes homeowners should not have to go to beg government bureaucrats for permission to improve their own private property. If homeowners want to improve their homes, this should be commended, not penalized.

According to the meeting agenda background information for the October 11, 2012 Apple Valley City Council Meeting, where nearly 600 Apple Valley property owners were listed as being delinquent on their utilities averaging $237/each, both of Mr. Moe’s properties appeared on the list.

Mr. Moe owns two properties, both of which are delinquent and his properties owe a combined total of $496.88 to the city. While it may be commendable to fight against undue taxation and excess government spending, not paying utilities and negatively impacting the rest of the community does not exactly fit into the Libertarian ethos. While Lazy Lightning is singling out Mr. Moe due to his prior run for public office and his Libertarian views, it’s likely that many of those on this list are just as guilty of the same offenses.

Do you agree that your utilities should be your first concern for payment after your mortgage and taxes (which they will eventually be added to as part of the process for those who do not clear their debt)? Do you find it against the Libertarian mantra to negatively impact your fellow citizens through non-payment of services? Should cities do more public notices of these delinquencies in an attempt to publicly shame those who do not pay to clear their debts? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Related posts:

1. Ryan Richard Moe for Apple Valley Mayor
2. Joshua Linde: Apple Valley’s “Choice” but no Change Candidate
3. Mayor Mary Uses City Resources for Campaign
4. Mayor Mary to Become Commissioner Mary?!
5. Public Spending: Lakeville Mayor Doesn’t Get It?