I write this, this evening, in utter disbelief of the logical inconsistencies of our current county commission. On July 17th, at the annual budget workshop, our commissioners devolved beyond a heated debate and into something I can only call unprofessional. Comments from several commissioners to their colleagues that were clearly intended to shame them into a different vote. It was the clearest example of peer pressure and bullying that I have witnessed in many years. (Ironic that bullying would be a talking point in the meeting). What was the end result? A less than .8% reduction in spending. Under $2 million in hard cuts made to the budget to achieve a palatable tax increase needed to secure the super majority vote that the state required. All cuts were made to the FARB’s, or fixed asset replacement budgets. In laymen’s terms, we are going to neglect the upkeep and maintenance of already held assets so we can fund other items.

Fast forward to this Tuesday, the 8th, and the very first item at the very first meeting after budget workshop was to purchase a plot of land solely to avoid building the proposed and legal, housing project in the works. This meeting was just as devoid of forward planning as the last. No planning of what we would use the land for. No mention on the merits of the land outside of preventing it from being changed. Never mind that this area was specifically designed for this purpose. Even the commissioner leading the charge admitted they extended the CRA to create building opportunities along this corridor. Now that a project arises that is not favorable to the commission or public, we want to change the rules and move the goal posts.

I don’t like the proposed project. I think it is heavily over built for the footprint available- but just as I taught my children while they were in pre-school: two wrongs do not make a right. Taxing citizens higher to fix there poor planning is simply wrong. Political opportunism is wrong.

Less than 5000 feet- under a mile- from this proposed land purchase is a $2 million new public park complete with amphitheater and seating. Financed by borrowing against TIF and CRA dollars, the CRA itself can’t afford this land grab until after the existing debts are paid. How naïve to believe this new 6 acres can be justified as “community good”. Maybe that’s why the new term “socially beneficial to the community” was coined?

It’s a simple crossroad for the commission: Open your 23/24 budget and tell your constituents what service you plan to cut to make this purchase happen. After all, your newly announced “sales tax referendum” is no guarantee and at least 6 months away if it does pass. Over the last 3 days the national weather service has issued extreme heat warnings for heat indexes over 115 degrees- maybe slashing the county HVAC FARB wasn’t a great idea after all.