After receiving my property tax bill in the mail today, I just had to get one more post in, bitching about the budget recently passed by our "fiscally responsible stewards of taxpayer money", the Guilford County Commissioners.
I wonder why Skip Alston thinks everyone should play by the rules except him?
Earlier this year, he declared that employees of Greensboro's housing department were racist because he didn't like the way a black- owned apartment management company was treated.
He accused Jenks Crayton of "special tax favors" (on hearsay from one of the Tax Dept. employees) to Commissioners Steve Arnold and Billy Yow. Even after the State Bureau of Investigation and the North Carolina Department of Revenue cleared Crayton of any wrongdoing, he is still not satisfied.
Yet he managed $250,000 dollars in this budget for his Civil Rights Museum, with a pledge of $250,000 over the next three years, for a total of $1 million dollars.
The county's rules say grant applications must be filed by March 11 and contain enough information so that officials can evaluate how the money would be used. The Civil Rights Museum "did not apply for funds during the stated application process," say county budget documents. Nor did it meet the requirement of providing tax-exempt documentation and an annual certified audit and management letter in advance.
Although future boards are not required to fund the $250,000 pledge the next three years, with this bunch in power, do you really think it won't happen??
You got to have the "power."
Then there's the 40% raise for the County Commissioners, making them, on average, the highest paid board of County Commissioners in the state. At a time when jobs are leaving the state by the thousands leaving people un-employed, housing needs, and health insurance needs, this is nothing but a slap in the face to the taxpayers of this county.
So Skip, Bruce. You claim to represent the maligned, downtrodden, and the poorest of poor in this county. Hope you've already picked out your charity or food banks to send that $500 a month too. Show 'em you really care.
Nearly $800,000 is going to local corporations to fulfill economic incentives commitments. Save your incentive money. Get off your asses, stop partisan bickering, back room politics and trying to "get one up" on the other party. Work together to make Guilford County a model county and you won't have to pay anyone to come and create jobs and contribute to the tax base. Make them "want" to come here and be a part of this county. The way it is now I don't see how anybody wants to live here anymore. (This advice meant for both parties. Not just the one responsible for the budget.)
This budget leaves the county's operating reserves at the bare minimum suggested by the NC Local Government Commission. The three top finance officials in Guilford County, Budget Director J. D. Rowland, Guilford County Manager Willie Best, and Finance Director Brenda Jones-Fox, all warned the commissioners not to take money from one-time sources to pay for operating costs.
Alston said budget officials wouldn't have let the commissioners use one-time money and money from a bond repayment fund if it were problematic. What he didn't say is they have no vote on the matter. So $3.4 million from one-time sales tax revenue, $1 million from the county's reserves, and $2 million from a fund meant to pay off school bond debt and other bond debt, has been included in the budget. That is one-time money that will not be available next year initially.
Right after the meeting where the budget was passed, Commissioner Kay Cashion was already starting to distance herself from it. When asked about the budget she said, "Well, I don't agree with everything that's in there."
Well Kay, when are you going to start doing the job you were elected to do? The people that voted for you didn't send you up there to be a "yes" lady for your party. They sent you up there to do what's right for the people of this county. If you don't "agree with what's in there", don't vote for it or at least try to change it. I don't remember reading about anything you were promised in the budget. To be a rubber stamp is unbelievable.
Commissioner Kirk Perkins. "I'm sure they're good projects. I just don't know anything about 'em."(In reference to some High Point programs funded.)
Kirk, isn't part of your job to find out about these things you are spending the taxpayer's money on? TAXPAYER money. Not yours. Seems like you would have a little more desire and ambition to at least "try" to be informed on what you're voting on. That's the "budget process."
Commissioner Carolyn Coleman, who voted for the budget, when asked how the county will be able to pay for this budget and address future debt, said that maybe the county economy will improve this year, and the Commissioners may be able to find some places to cut in the future to help pay for things.
I doubt it Mrs. Coleman. You didn't try to find any cuts this year so why should we expect any difference in years to come?
I will keep my fingers crossed and hope the economy improves though. Then I might be able to find a job, pay my taxes, and keep my home, unless the county is willing to "forgive" my tax burden this year.
Commissioner Bruce Davis got $20,000 into the budget again this year for a youth league football program. It bought uniforms last year anjd those are good for several years. What are we gonna get this year?
Other sports spending includes $5,000 for the High Point Golf Swingers Youth Program, and $5,000 for the Macedonia Baseball Little League Program.
Hell, I need golf lessons. Wonder if they'll teach me?
Commissioner Paul Gibson has to be my favorite.
Gibson said he supports the civil rights museum but has no idea how the $250,000 will be used. That wasn't discussed, he said.
"We spent less time talking about the budget than I spend with my home budget," Gibson added. He didn't like everything in it but,"I held my nose and voted for it."
So much for the budget process.
A day or so after the budget vote Mr. Gibson had second thoughts about the Commissioners raise in the budget. He said he wasn't upset about the raise but the process in which it was achieved. (No discussion)
Playing both sides of the fence??
Must be. The raise still stands as of today. With the Republicans in the minority it will probably stay that way.
Republican Trudy Wade said she wasn't planning on taking the raise. Republican Mike Winstead said he'd turned it down already. Kudos to them.
I have to agree with Skip Alston on one thing.
There is a "Good Ol' Boy" network alive and kicking in Guilford County.
It's just not the people he thinks it is.
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