`Playing With Fire` by Scott Lazenby

Thoughts on Playing with Fire ' by Scott Lazenby

Scott Lazenby 's Playing with Fire (2001 ) chronicles the trials and tribulations of everyday life in the burgeoning suburb of Trillium (near Portland , Oregon , where the local administration is slowly overstretched by a restive population . Following the narrative of the protagonist , Ben Cromarty , we arrive at a City Council meeting which is to decide upon how to deliver a rollback on property taxes which the people of Trillium demanded through a special election

The debate comes to a head between two contrary perspectives : on

one hand , Councilman Rob Titus , a lawyer , advocates a tough love (2 approach by radically (and visibly ) reducing services in particular sectors to account for lower taxes on the other , Councilman Seth Rosenberg , a businessman , is of the opinion that a more careful strategy needs to be developed by identifying such sectors that can do with lesser funds , in to retain the efficiency of the administrative structure and public services

Councilman Titus ' hard stance is born out of the limited means with which the City Council of Trillium has to get by . He mentions that [t]he property tax is all [they] have left (2 therefore increasing other taxes would not counterbalance the shortfall from lowering property taxes . So , the only option for the council , according to Titus , is to cut services . He is clearly disgruntled by the vote and recommends that the voters need to get the message that there are consequences to irresponsible decisions (2 . Thus...