Then how shall I fix it, dear Tony, dear Tony?
City Newspaper’s ace reporter, Jeremy Moule, gives us a rundown, this week, on the legislature’s approach to the $50 mil budget gap. Stlo7 wrote about this yesterday, but it bears repeating:
Legislature Republicans have been looking at “absolutely everything” - including raising the property-tax rate by between 5 and 20 percent, the legislature’s Ways and Means Committee chair, Tony LaFountain, said last week. A tax increase isn’t “at the top of the docket,” but it is under serious consideration, he said.
Other things being considered by the Republicans, include:
- Charge backs for 2 programs: Safety Net and the Sheriff’s Road Patrol
- Sales-tax intercept plan
The Intercept program continues to come back up, time and time again like a hastily consumed Limburger cheese sandwich. Each time, a little bit more unsavory, than the last. Listen to Sandy Frankel, Supervisor of the town of Brighton, and what she has to say about how the intercept will affect her town:
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Of course, the Democrats in the County Legislature have some ideas as well. They include:
- Turn MCWA into a county department (which, from my vantage point, was voted down at the last legislature meeting)
- Requiring MCWA to make payments, in lieu of taxes on it’s facilities.
- Collecting Frontier Field rent
- Increasing use of generic drugs at the county jail
- Programs to decrease jail inmate recidivism
But don’t expect them to be acknowledged, anytime soon, by this Honorable Body. Seems only Republican ideas see the light of day as long as we have a Republican Majority. So “Nope, not gonna do it, wouldn’t be prudent at this juncture.” And it won’t be prudent until the Democrats win back the legislature.
So get out there and work for your Democratic County Leg candidate, and if you don’t have one running in your district (attention district 12-I’m talking to you!), then work for one in another district. Let’s take our county back.
The taxes you save may be your own.
with lafountain in charge, does that mean our county budget is a fiat? since after all, those initials assume repeated fixing, just like our budget.