20 points! !

the author would most likely agree with which idea?
a.
middleton is jackson county's safest town to live in because it says so in police records.
b.
funds should be shifted from town employees' salaries and used to make necessary repairs.
c.
mayor walker should immediately raise taxes by 20% regardless of the state of the economy.
d.
there have not been enough accidents to spark legitimate concerns about safety in middleton.

story:

getting priorities straight in middleton

in 2009, middleton was voted jackson county’s safest town to live in. this honor, bestowed on middleton for five years in a row, was determined through police records across the county’s 21 municipalities. however, if middleton is so safe, why does middleton general hospital rank highest for emergency room visits?
the answer is obvious to many residents: middleton’s unsafe buildings and roads. each year, middleton sees about 100 accidents stemming from subpar roads and buildings that are in disrepair. for example, in 2005—the first year middleton was recognized as the safest town—an elderly woman broke her ankle on a crumbling curb on browne street. later that year, a roof tile flew off hamilton bank, striking a resident on the head. a longtime pothole on sycamore avenue sent a toddler to the emergency room in october, and loose steps on the courthouse injured two court clerks just one week later.
according to grace chen, principal at tucker elementary school, “we used to see more injuries on the playground than on the sidewalks. now, our students are hurt walking to school. they’re hurt in public buildings. they’re getting hurt on field trips around town.”
tasha johnson, a 16-year-old at fleming high school, was injured riding her bike on park street. “i broke my leg,” says the high school junior. “i couldn’t play soccer for the rest of the season. why did that have to happen to me? it was totally unfair.”
they’re not the only middleton residents who feel this way. in fact, 2,311 people—over half of middleton’s population—signed a petition to get the town’s safety back on track.
mayor mitchell walker replied by saying, “the town council is doing everything in its power to remedy these issues. unfortunately, we don’t have the funds. to make all of the repairs necessary, we’d have to increase taxes by 20%. that is unreasonable in this economy.”
though funds are unavailable for basic repairs, salaries for town employees increased 15% in 2008 alone. this is in addition to the 10% increases they’ve received every year for the past six years. ironically, middleton’s town building inspector, joshua reynolds, is the highest-paid town employee.
regardless of their six-figure salaries, middleton’s top brass cannot devise a plan to meet simple safety needs. reynolds received a $75,000 bonus last year, yet a screen fell from his own office window and onto the main street sidewalk.
as taxpayers, we have to wonder: when will our hard-earned tax dollars go toward the repairs we want and need? why are we paying our town employees $200,000 a year while middleton’s biggest problem goes unfunded?