The Guardian is amazed at all the "free stuff" around all us in this elections year courtesy of our local elected officials. Urban Renewal is still tyring to sell us the notion all their spending is "at no cost to taxpayers".
We have the best and brightest minds trying to figure out how to get us out of the bankers and Wall Street mess with the "heads they win and tails we lose" financial market. Populist backlash and people out of work want to see some heads on a silver platter and some people in fancy suits doing the perp walk.
Politicians at our local levels have been doing some hand wringing over budget issues and trying still keep pet projects moving forward. Political sleight of hand may be running out of gas with voters. People out of work, retirement accounts evaporated by the stock market meltdown, houses foreclosed. People feeling the impacts of Suits who did nothing but shuffle money around still getting bonus money from taxpayers for the mess they created. Populist anger roiling on the one hand and generosity from working people on the other.
Meanwhile, county and city officials are not putting any "skin" in the efforts to cut what they are spending to any significant levels. Nor are they showing any inclination to give property tax payers a break. County, Caldwell and Nampa officials have openly stated they expect property taxes to be revenue neutral and will raise levy rates for all property owners. They will be taking a 3% increase above the highest revenue collected in the past three years. Our County Assessor is now saying property values will go down by about 15% but your property taxes will be going up.
Our elected deciders can't seem to figure out the people they work for are bleeding in this economy. Businesses are closing right and left. These folks continue with their 'FREE STUFF" mentality. Elections this fall for city officials will result in a regime change or more of the same smoke and mirrors. Your vote counts more than ever this Fall.
Sounds like you have a lot of good facts to share with the people! Good Job
ReplyDeleteI understand the county commissioners can’t and will not make decisions that make sense. Then they decide that they have jurisdiction over the juvenile center and misdemeanor and juvenile probation from the Idaho Supreme Court administrator who has directed those departments for years and fired the director of the probation office.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes the commissioners think they have time to administrate those kinds of activities, none of them have any expertise in those areas, they need to consecrate on financial affairs of the county. They get rid of the people that know what they are doing. Sounds par for the commissioners, they’re up to the old games again, let’s grab all the power we can and tell everyone what a wonderful job we are doing, while everything goes to hell.
By the way I bet the commissioners would like to have the cash they spent on the jail fiasco (the second time) the 3-4 million dollars (in cash) would be nice to have back in the county treasury!
please change my post to concentrate from consecrate (they haven't consecrated any thing)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
What will the future hold? Bankrupt cities and counties could be the norm. Spend more than we have and keep spending at the same rate during bad economic times. That's what these commissioners and mayors are doing, they can't help themselves, they are addicted to spending taxpayer dollars.
ReplyDeleteWill someone please start recalling the idiots and get some real managers in office.
Two out of three county commissioners have gone bankrupt. The newest commissioner Kathy Alder does not seem to be living up to her campaign promises to work toward a county manager.
ReplyDeleteThe bungled real estate purchases, nepotism hiring practices and failure to seize the opportunity to clear out dead wood are more examples of Commissioner mismanagement.
We know we are going to get a big property tax levy rate increase despite our homes and incomes in steep decline.
I'll bet they wish they had not spent all that money on a new jail site, and other land purchases right now.