Just when I think that the Commishes have plumbed “Orange progressive” silliness to its lowest possible depths, I watched the BOCC run head on at full speed into a telephone poll. To my utter surprise they bounced off that poll without a scratch, except for the TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS of “scratch” coming out of your tax paying wallet. You know the story Hot Orange Story. First, the “commishes” wait around for a year twiddling their thumbs.
As you may recall, last summer the State turned some level of tax collection over to the option of the Counties. At that time, the BOCC was whining about a 1 point something million dollar budget deficit left by this tax change. Of course, if either the sales or real estate taxes are approved by us beloved voters, they will have a windfall of over 3 million in income. What? They did not tell you that? I wonder why not? What are they going to do with the windfall-lower our property taxes? Of course not!
So, now in a mad rush since they are the best at not planning (reference the trash transfer station debacle) they “bump uglies” with a deadline (it really is next November, but that is an optional fact) as to whether or not to put a local option sales tax and/or a local option transfer tax on the May 2008 primary elections ballot. (What’s with worrying about that? As Commissioner Mike Nelson says, “we live in an area where people expect high taxes for high services”.) I don't get it, I guess I don't get into being so “high” the way Opies do.
So as the commish filings open up for the May primary, they hire (non-competitively, of course, all legal mind you, always legal) their buddies at $10,000- 4 times the cost of another local qualified firm that wasn’t even solicited. My good friend Mr. Tom Jensen (who hailed Mister Nelson as an “environmentalist” even after Mike’s Adams Tract- Carrboro Public Works Garage plans were shoved under his nose) was so upset at not being solicited by Nelson that he wrote a “nastygram” to the papers complaining of unfair favoritism. I see tears welling up in someone's eyes.
After forking over mucho moullah, (hey, it’s only YOUR money) the commishes get the results and promptly do what? They ignore them. When the survey says that more people would approve a sales tax than a transfer tax, they decide to put the land transfer tax onto the May ballot and forget about the sales tax. They do what they’ve wanted to do for the past four years. What are these guys smoking?? All this talk about getting high is making me dizzy. My head is almost as light as my wallet after pimping the BOCC's gangster tax ride.
Finally, the high dollar pollsters do such a thorough job, they don’t list the fact that at least two people I know gave Squeezethepulp.com (Woot! Woot! Woot!) as their internet source for news about local issues. (I’m sure there were more.) So, we’re supposed to “trust the commishes” when they can’t even hire someone to take a poll accurately. Geesh, rubber telephone polls… who’d of thunk it!
Ground control to Major Commishes, Orange County Tax Payers here- excuse me, we want our $10,000 back. You can either write us a check or take a pay cut. I’m sure you’ll comply. After all, such economic dynamos know how to make money… at least for themselves….using our taxes.
It’s time to show just how flammable these paper tiger money squanderers are. Vote these non-planning, tax wasting incumbents out onto the street during the primaries. They will have more to worry about than the land transfer tax come May.
It’s only your money… so easy for them to burn, baby, burn.
