The Citizen Newsletter

The Conservative Voice of Henry County

Issue # 343

April 29, 2012

Over 40,000 reads at Scribd.com

Hat tip to Glenn Lanier

In This Issue:
Page Feature 2 2 3 3 4 5 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 10 Henry BoC to Lower Pay Henry: Expect a tax Increase When is an Increase Not an Increase? VOTE NO July 31st Taste of Henry Update Plan B Sounds Better Deal, Ralston Have No Answers Spelman, Morehouse Sign with KIPP UFO Sighting in Buford Stanley for Henry BoE Jim Wright for Henry DA Locust Grove Day Photos Friends of CRG Bee Informed

Do you have a story to tell? Become a Citizen contributor. Submit your opinions, commentaries and articles to hc.citizen@hccitizen.org View or download at
WWW.SCRIBD.COM/HENRY_CITIZEN

Contact The Citizen at hc.citizen@hccitizen.org

Editorial / Publication Policy

~1~

Henry County Board to Reduce Commissioners Pay

The Citizen has learned from a highly reliable source the Henry Board of Commissioners are soon to pass a resolution that reduces the compensation of an elected commissioner.
The economic downturn in Henry County has hit everyone and nearly every member of the Henry BoC agrees they, too, must share the burden. Details are forthcoming but the planned resolution outlined to The Citizen will soon come to a vote and it will pass. Some legal issues must be worked out to cover every board member since compensation cannot be changed during an elected term. The target of January 1, 2013 will affect those members up for re-election this year: Districts 1, 2 and 3 Commissioners. Districts 4 & 5 commission seats will receive the reduced salary with the next elected term. At present the annual pay is planned to be $35,000, a 20% decrease. A beginning Henry County police officer is hired at just over $36,000 per year. Compensation for the Chairman will also be adjusted, but at a smaller percentage. The Citizen agrees with reduction in the Board's compensation. Some will call this an election
year ploy. Some will question the amount of reduction in the Chairman's pay. Others will continue to question the nearly $800,000 paid annually for Supplemental Pay given to the Judicial staff. Cuts to politically placed appointees and their staff could defray criticism.

Expect a property tax increase

The Henry County board of commissioners are expected to increase the millage rate 3.1 mils. From the current 11.75 to 14.85 mils. Henry County property taxes are divided between the School Board (23.6 mils), the Water Authority (2 mils), Piedmont-Henry Hospital (1 mil) and the Board of Commissioners. Agreement with Piedmont Hospital calls for the property tax collected for that purpose to be reimbursed annually to the County. The effective increase for Henry County government, then, will be 4.1 mils.

Henry County will have an effective 42.45 millage rate.

~2~

Look around .
CLAYTON DEKALB NEWTON ROCKDALE SPALDING FAYETTE SCHOOL 20, COUNTY 15.83 SCHOOL 22.98, COUNTY 19.4 SCHOOL 20, COUNTY 10.91 SCHOOL 24.5, COUNTY 16.91 SCHOOL 19.06, COUNTY 15.01 SCHOOL 20, COUNTY 8.80 35.83 42.38 30.91 41.41 34.07 28.80

Henry County taxpayers will have a higher property tax rate than any surrounding county. We are left asking, Why is this necessary? 1. Highest tax rate in the Southern Crescent 2. Should T-SPLOST pass for the region, our sales tax will hit 8% In 2013 the Henry County BoC will ask us to approve another 5 or 6 year local SPLOST program. A reasonable person would agree that Henry taxpayers will never pass another local SPLOST program.

The Hack Line

HTTP://CHARLESMOBLEY.WORDPRESS.COM/2012/04/28/HERE-WE-GO-AGAIN/

WHEN IS AN INCREASE NOT AN INCREASE? WHEN YOU ARE HENRY COUNTY. FUZZY MATH In the Budget Review Panel meetings many people stated they viewed raising the tax rate and paying less than they did the year before as not raising taxes. I certainly did not agree. If you have a job where you were paid $50, 000 and paid taxes of 12% or $6000 then the next year you were paid $41,500 and asked to pay $5900 did you pay more in taxes? According to Reddoch, many of the panelist and quite a few Henry politicians you paid less in taxes.

~3~

Visit WWW.TRAFFICTRUTH.NET and signup for our email list to be notified of site launch, more information, and volunteer efforts. Download the TSPLOST Fact Sheet and share with your friends, family, neighbors. Like and follow on the FB and Twitter links.

Everyone has been asking, so here's the scoop for our first Category of Award Winners from TASTE OF HENRY: People's Choice - 1st Place: Jailhouse Brewing Company/Hayden Grove Farms/Chef Jeffrey Bell. 2nd place: The French Market. 3rd Place: Great American Grill at Hilton Garden Inn. 4th Place: The Grand Gourmet @ The Alexander House. For a complete listing of all of our restaurants, go to WWW.TASTEOFHENRY.ORG.

RAY GIBSON WROTE

With all the negative going on at the City of Stockbridge it was great to be able to spend the afternoon honoring a true man of God in his retirement. Mr. Dan Dickson worked for the City for just over 34 years and he was amazing today in his speech to those in attendance. Dan you will be missed not only as the leader you were but as the friend you were to everyone who was able to know you. Best wishes in your retirement as you start a new chapter in your life.

~4~

Plan B sounds better

By Tom LaBarge

Happily, MDJ guest columnist Benita Dodd of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation understands this. Transaction taxes are highly subject to political abuse and economic misallocation. Not good." MDJ columnists have penned several articles and opinion pieces having to do with upcoming elections on sales transaction generated special taxes. Yep, they sure are special, but not in any complimentary way. Any voter that didn t chuckle at the Cobb County School District s concern over a suitable SPLOST IV project list assembled by August must be immune to good comedy: Just what part of the fourth incarnation of a once unexpectedly needed additional tax is special ? Already, CCSD has reportedly come up with a nearly $1 billion wish list of projects they would like us to pay for, some of which may indeed be necessary. But five will get you 10 the wish list is primarily just that a group of nice to have projects which can t be paid for without additional taxation. The problem is thus clear. Once Cobb s first SPLOST was passed some 14 years ago, the baseline budget of non-SPLOST funded expenditures and expenses suddenly had some breathing room. School tax dollars from property tax collections were now available for fun projects administrators could play with. (A list is not presently necessary. You know many of them already.) Five years later, another SPLOST was needed so all the expansions of schools and staff could continue. It was for the kids once again. And for the Facility Group. Remember it? Not surprisingly, once SPLOST II was in its final year, the alarms went off again. We need more money! CCSD said. Equally unsurprisingly, another special tax was passed in a guaranteed low-turnout September 2008 election. And now SPLOST III is about to expire, albeit about $200 million short of projections due to the mushy economy since 2008. Guess what? In spite of a flat school population since then, somehow nearly another billion dollars is needed to keep CCSD running and our schools competitive. Really? We need yet another injection of special revenue? Let s review: * First, pass a special tax that is urgently needed and prevents property tax increases. * Next, use the money on highly visible projects, freeing up standard tax revenues to fund less visible expenses. Grow your bureaucracy. * When the tax expires, pass another one. Institutionalize the tax. Make it an expected tax cost to consumers and residents.

~5~

* Rinse. Repeat. Now, let s change outfits. Replace the CCSD hat with a DOT hat. (Or is that a CID hat?) Come July, we will vote on the TIA plan to allegedly fund transportation improvements in our region through another so-called special tax running 10 years, collecting over $6 billion presumably for road and transit projects. Cobb s part of this is somewhere around $1 billion, most of which is slated for either a very amorphous, undefined premium bus service or a street-car line serving only a tiny corner of Cobb conveniently occupied by the Cumberland CID. Even MDJ letter-writer Dale Caldwell commented April 12, I don t believe for a second 100 percent of the $7.2 billion will end up being spent appropriately. Curiously, however, Mr. Caldwell closed with an endorsement of the TIA tax plan because we are in desperate need of better transportation. He continued, Just know that penny tax will likely never come off the books, and a good bit will be spent paying special interests back. While Mr. Caldwell clearly states his belief certain TIA monies will be questionably spent, and TIA will likely become a permanent tax, he nevertheless supports voting for known waste, supported by perpetual taxation because some of the money will go to good projects. Well, maybe. Plan B sounds better. Happily, MDJ guest columnist Benita Dodd of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation understands this. Transaction taxes are highly subject to political abuse and economic misallocation. Not good. If TIA funding passes, one can be sure just as education SPLOSTs have become de rigueur, so too will a TSPLOST become institutionalized. Just plan on it. TSPLOST-IV will be in your future. Along the way, accountability and incentive for government efficiency will disappear. Government knows the money will be there forever, and they ll spend it then expect more. Just ask Fulton and DeKalb residents about their MARTA tax. So-called special taxes, in spite of sunset provisions, eventually aren t special at all. They merely become crutches for excessive spending on ineffective systems and programs more properly funded by other taxes and fees. Every time. Keep this in mind come July 31 as well as in March 2013. It s time to rethink TIA SPLOSTs in general. and

Tom LaBarge is principal and General Manager of Transit Analytics, LLC, in Kennesaw.

~6~

VOTE NO TO T-SPLOST
Unfortunately, Georgia House of Representatives Speaker David Ralston cannot tell you how we are going to pay the exorbitant future operations and maintenance costs of operating expanded mass transit. Don't you think we ought to be able to answer that question?

Georgia's Governor Nathan Deal cannot explain why regional leaders in Atlanta are promising the voters a list of mass transit projects when the transportation referendum will only generate half of the necessary funding. Don't expect the federal government to pick up the tab.

Spelman, Morehouse Sign Agreement with Charter School Organization

A great idea for education partnership! Let's hope these examples of working together will take hold all across Georgia. ~~ Sen. Chip Rogers

Two Atlanta colleges signed an agreement today with a national charter school organization. Morehouse and Spelman colleges have each pledged to reserve slots for qualified KIPP students across the U.S. The agreement is the first in the country between a charter school group and historically black colleges or universities. Nationally, about two-thirds of KIPP students are African-American. David Jernigan, executive director of KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools, says the partnership will have a special meaning for his students. They live right down the street in many cases from these historically black universities that are doing amazing things for kids and I think knowing that partnership exists will ensure that they re going to take a second look at those colleges, he says. Spelman and Morehouse have each pledged up to 15 slots for qualified KIPP students in the 2013-2014 school year and 20 slots each year after that.

~7~

Another UFO Sighting Reported, This Time in Buford

An individual reports seeing white oval-shaped object zigzag across the sky before it disappeared into the tree line.
HTTP://DACULA.PATCH.COM/ARTICLES/UFO-SIGHTING-REPORTED-IN-BUFORD

STANLEY FOR HENRY BOARD OF EDUCATION

HTTP://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PAGES/STANLEY-FOR-HENRY-BOARD-OF-EDUCATION/284100898334521

Larry Stanley will consistently apply a conservative social and fiscal voice to the Henry County Board of Education. Every school district is supported by local property taxes, state and federal funding. To the extent that local property tax and local control are valid issues, the determination of "cost per student" is also a valid issue. When Clayton County schools fell off the charts many students fled to surrounding counties. Yet Clayton County BoE still received the tax dollars. I do not "want blood" from anyone, but I do want accountability. School districts should have the legal right and means to collect from the school district from which the child originated. I 100% agree with quality of education. I also believe in accountability for the school board that willingly allows cross-district fraud without consequences. There are issues involved that beg for school choice and school quality. That is among my reasons for seeking a seat on the Henry County school board. Accountability and transparency are a must.
Don t just Like it. Help make it happen! Contributions are appreciated
STANLEY FOR HENRY BOARD OF EDUCATION 260 Oak Leaf Drive, Stockbridge GA 30281 LRSTANLEY@CHARTER.NET

~8~

Jim Wright for Henry District Attorney Jim Wright has been protecting Henry County for over 30 years as a police officer and prosecutor. Jim has served in the District Attorney s office for 26 years and currently serves as the Senior Assistant District Attorney, prosecuting hundreds of felony cases in Superior Court.

Experience We Need to Keep Henry County Safe

HTTP://WRIGHTFORHENRYDA.COM/

At Locust Grove Day

Tommy Smith, candidate for Henry County Chairman, Sue Osborne and former chairman Leland Maddox Larry Stanley, candidate for District 2 Board of Education and Tommy Smith

Friends of the CRG & B&M Civil War research groups:

We held a Confederate Memorial Day service on April 26,2012 at the CRG & B&M Headquarters. You can watch the video on our video page or the link below. Thank and God bless Alfred Britt Founder CRG Video
HTTP://YOUTU.BE/UGEDQECPXPO

~9~

Bee Informed
A monthly publication of the Henry County Beekeepers

DEADLINE FOR REGISTERING IS ***WEDNESDAY MAY 2ND, 2012 ***

Find us at

WWW.HENRYCOUNTYBEEKEEPERS.ORG

The Citizen Newsletter is provided by

Henry Citizens for Responsible Government Larry Stanley, Editor Please report broken links or other problems Email: HC.CITIZEN@HCCITIZEN.ORG To Unsubscribe: send email to HC Citizen Write UNSUBSCRIBE in Subject: line

~ 10 ~