Hall County GOP Chairman Blog

Very nice.  First there was going to be a shortfall for next year’s budget so they needed a tax increase.  Then it turns out that instead of a $1M surplus this year, there is really a $7M shortfall so they need a bigger tax increase.  Then the School Board decides to max out the tax increase to pay for the “lost” money (still taking 2 years to pay the debt off).  Then the superintendent ($250,000 per year) blames a former employee who left almost a year ago (and who denies any knowlege of a budget problem) for the budget crisis and then he “lawyers up” and won’t talk to anybody claiming the School Board was being mean to him and has committed criminal acts.  Then the new CFO announces that another $1.8M is missing.  See the memo here–>School Nutrition Missing Money  How much can get stolen before someone besided me and The Times does something about it?  Sheriff Cronic:  Please call the GBI to start an investigation before the “auditors” clean up the evidence.  You don’t need a search warrant, just ask for consent to search and see who objects.

This is what happens when you let Democrats handle money.  There is never enough to do what they want, and sometimes some money goes missing.  The answer is always to raise taxes so you can pay for their mistakes.

Read The Times here–>$1.8 million in federal funds unaccounted for by Gainesville schools

No Government seems to ever have a surplus.  If they do, the first thing they do is fight over how to spend it as soon as possible.  That is why in years when WE are having a hard time making ends meet, THEY ask for more.  The answer should always be NO.

The $27M Gainesville budget shows that 16% or $4,320,000 is administrative overhead.  55% of the budget is public safety.  I’m all for police and fire protection at any cost but…..

….it is time to consider unified fire and law enforcement in Gainesville / Hall County.  Each operation now has its own administration which could be cut on half.  Chief Hooper is doing a great job, but a unified law enforcement under Sheriff Cronic would bring the illegal alien capture-and-deport program to the City (where it is a huge loophole now).  Gainesville is almost a sanctuary city for illegal aliens.  Recently I was told that one rating company has rated Hall County down because of the illegal alien issue.  Any certified officer can run radar and write speeding tickets on the bridges (no matter the color of the uniform).

What is the importance about the property tax being steady (about $4.9M)?  It means that there is no reason to increase taxes because the City’s income is the same.

Thanks to Kristen Morales at The Times for this information.

No matter how you word it, and no matter the justification, taking more money from citizens is an increase in taxes.  I’m all for pay-as-you go, but I suspect that many governments take “profit” from one area to subsidize other areas.  Pay-as-you go only works for “extras” so they break even, not become a cash cow for wasteful spending.  Those extras are probably not something that should be a priority (like curbside organic refuse pickup the City of Gainesville has, multi-million dollar libraries, and water parks).  You can make a argument that anything is related to health, safety, and welfare of the residents.  But picking up leaves?  Read The Times article here–>Residents get chance to comment on Gainesville’s $27.9 million budget plans.  Also notice how the City Council will try to ignore the City School Board mess in their budget talks.  However the money for both comes out of the same pockets.  And those pockets don’t have to move far to get out of reach of the pickpockets.  Of course, it goes without saying that the huge illegal immigration problem in Gainesville is the root cause of most of the budget problems.  When a large portion of your population does not pay taxes, but takes advantage of every service, it shifts the burden to the taxpayers.

Read the paper about the effects of the Sheriff’s new immigration efforts.  He tells me that crime involving illegal aliens is down by a large percentage already!  Way to go Sheriff!  Vendors who rely on illegal aliens are already whining (and threatening) too.

Now it is time for the County Commission and City Council to start refuse to issue permits to illegal aliens.  Business permits, building permits, licenses of all sorts (e.g. licenses to sell liquor).  A town in Virginia is doing that and the results have been dramatic.

Keep in mind that while illegal aliens are living in Hall County they occasionally have children.  Those children are U.S. Citizens and when they turn 18 they can vote.  Last report I read says that Hispanic births at the NEGMC outpace all others.  That means in 2026 the children of illegal aliens might be able to vote our elected officials out of office and put in their open border radical stooges in their place.

Republicans are normally too busy working (and paying taxes) to plan ahead.  For a very long time I was only in support of deporting illegal aliens that committed felony criminal offenses and some more severe misdemeanor offenses where public safety is at risk (e.g. DUI, battery, family violence, etc.)  However now I understand that the costs to lawful citizens of the illegal aliens far outpace the utility of their being here.  Every sector of our local economy is negatively affected by illegal aliens.  Yes it means that some very nice, hard-working, talented, God-fearing people will be deported.  However the will be deported TO THEIR HOME NOT TO A CONCENTRATION CAMP.  That is like me being deported to Athens.  It is not really mean spirited or unfair to give someone a free trip home so they can follow the rules to return lawfully.

Way to go “Citizens!!!”  I could not make the meeting, but I’m glad some of you attended to tell the Gainesville City School Board what it means when you are millions of dollars in debt, you don’t know how you got there, and you want to make someone else pay for it. 

Lets look at the details.  The elected officials “thought” they had almost $1M in surplus based upon the projections of someone who resigned over9 months ago.  Now they announce that they are in the red to the tune of $7M and it will take 2 years to get that debt paid off!  That is an $8M difference!  And they can’t explain it?  Maybe instead of an “audit” they need a GBI or FBI investigation?  The money went to someone that the school board or the superintendent approved and signed the checks for.  How can they be suprised?  Did they not balance their checkbook each month?  A good start would be for everyone in charge of budget and finance to resign or be fired (The Superindendent? Janet Allison?), THEN do a criminal investigation.  No tax increase is warranted, the salary saved from all the firings will help, and tightening their belts will do the rest.

Remember a few weeks ago?  Remember the early Democrat tax increase warning signs I talked about here?  How disingenuous to announce a tax increase was required because of future budget projections NOT becuase they were already in debt.  So does that mean they didn’t know about being $8M in debt just a few weeks ago?  Or did they know and they where trying to distract the taxpayers with talk about future expenses?  Most likely the latter. Democrats love to raise taxes and will use any flimsy excuse to do so.  In this case the excuse is, “Where did the money go?  We need more please!”

Read The Times story here–>Residents blast tax increase plan.  Thanks to Jeff Gill who has been all over this story.  He has been very balanced and conservative in his reporting, and he took the extra step of doing the math for us to show that the school board wants each taxpayer in Gainesville to donate an extra $200 per year or so to make up for their mistakes.

This is what happens when you let Democrats run your government people.  It is great to “blast” them, but you have to un-elect the school board or you will always get a tax increase.

Once again, Democrats and their appointed minions look to YOUR pocketbook to fund their excesses.  As widely reported, the Gainesville City Superintendent Dr. Steven Ballowe makes over $210,000 per year (plus benefits that probably include insurance and a free car and free gas for that car).  Janet Allison, the finance chief for Ballowe, says that the proposed budget for the 2008-9 school year is $3,300,000 in the red.  Her solution?  Reduce spending?  Become more efficient?  No way!  “[We’re probably going to have to increase the [tax] rate,” she says.  Sammy Smith, chairman and long time Hall County Democratic activist and consultant, concurred with Janet Allison’s conclusion.

A call to the Gainesville School Board office estimated only 6,000 students in the City Schools.  Dr. Ballowe makes about $35 for each student enrolled.  Hall County schools are MUCH larger with 24,777 students in 2007 and the superintendent, William Schofield,  makes “only” $173,000 or $6 per student.  A bargain by comparison.  The President of the United States only makes $400,000 or $0.0014 per citizen.

I suggest that elected officials and their bureaucrats look to their own pocketbooks before they look to ours for ways to balance the budget.  Average salary for administrators is over $95,000, almost 4 times more than the citizens who make an average of $26,000, and almost twice what the Gainesville teachers make (an average of $51,000). 

As the population grows so does the money generated by the same tax rate.  There is NO reason to increase the tax rate.  If the population is not generating the taxes needed at the current tax rate, because of illegal immigration or other factors, then it is the bureaucrats that need to look for a solution.  According to Democrats, there is ALWAYS some “good” reason to raise taxes.  Right now schools have no incentive to do anything but raise taxes.  That is, until you hold them accountable.  There are 2 chances for you to make a public comment on the tax increase:  May 28th, 10AM, at New Holland Core Knowledge Academy and May 29th, 6PM, at Gainesville High School.

Thanks to Jeff Gill at The Times for covering this issue.  If you live in the City of Gainesville, let Sammy and the others know that they don’t need more taxes, they just need to tighten their belt.