Editorial Cartoons of The Week Compliments of William Warren:Topics are The Naked Truth, Rotten Egg, Crappy Poll Numbers and Thanks Hugo

more where that came from

The Naked Truth

Rotten Egg

Crappy Poll Numbers

Thanks Hugo

ALG Editor's Note: William Warren's award-winning cartoons published at GetLiberty.org are a free service of ALG News Bureau. They may be reused and redistributed free of charge. CLICKHERE

Vaclav Havel via Fec

You do not become a ‘dissident’
just because you decide one day to take up this most unusual career.

You are thrown into it by your personal sense of responsibility,
combined with a complex set of external circumstances.

You are cast out of the existing structures
and placed in a position of conflict with them.

It begins as an attempt to do your work well,
and ends with being branded an enemy of society.

…He does not attempt to charm the public.

He offers nothing and promises nothing.

He can offer, if anything, only his own skin
—and he offers it solely because he has no other way
of affirming the truth he stands for.

His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen,
regardless of the cost.

Vaclav Havel via Fec

Could Guilford County face a $61 million budget deficit in 2011/12?

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered

The point is to discover them

Galileo Galilei

Censored Astronomer

Total Principal and Interest Due 2010/12..................................$98,352,299

Total Principal and Interest Due 2010/11................................- $70,850,005

Additional Principal and Interest Outlay................................ = -$27,502,294


Minus 2010/11 General Fund excess surplus elimination.......... -$34,000,110

Potential 2011/12 Budget Deficit.............................................. -$61,502,404


http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/11budgetpro/30%20-%20Debt.pdf
3rd Page at the top

http://www.co.guilford.nc.us/11budgetpro/10%20-%20Sum%20of%20Revs,%20Exp,%20and%20FB.pdf
2nd Page near the bottom

Whatever failures I have known, whatever errors I have committed

whatever follies I have witnessed…

have been the consequence of action without thought

Bernard Baruch

American financier, and presidential advisor

Did Someone in Guilford County's Government Lie to the Greensboro News and Record on the Budget Deficit?

A budget deficit occurs when an entity spends more money than it takes in.

Wikipedia

"Once we were able to pry loose the information from the county, we were told the looming deficit could range between $20 million and $25 million."

Allen Johnson: I want my county government back
Greensboro News & Record

Budget Deficit

The amount by which a government, company, or individual's spending

exceeds its income over a particular period of time.

Also called deficit or deficit spending.

Opposite of budget surplus.

Investorwords.com

If Guilford County's projected deficit consists of $17 million in cuts
plus the $34 million the county intends to spend more than it recieves,
does the 2010/11 budget deficit = $51 million?

If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers

Thomas Pynchon

Summary of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances
Fy 2010 – 2011 Proposed Guilford County Budget, Page 19 at the bottom

"TOTAL Expenditures (17,210,932)

Excess (deficiency) of revenues over expenditures (34,000,110)"

Budget Deficit

(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the amount by which government expenditure

exceeds income from taxation, customs duties, etc.,

in any one fiscal year

thefreedictionary.com

Deep Thoughts on Guilford County Politics and the Budget, by the GN&R's Allen Johnson

Not to transmit an experience

is to betray it

Elie Wiesel

"Allen Johnson: I want my county government back

...As the News & Record's Joe Killian reported, County Manager Brenda Jones Fox more than once refused to tell county commissioners, who were members of the budget committee, the projected deficit when asked twice to do so.

"I want to know what our budget shortfall is," Commissioner Carolyn Coleman said. "How much are we needing to cut? I've been asking and asking for these numbers."

Fox wouldn't say.

Commissioner Kay Cashion also asked. "With respect, we just have to know where we are," Cashion said.

Fox glanced uncomfortably at Commissioners Chairman Melvin "Skip" Alston.

Then refused once more.

(Remind me, whom does she work for again?)

...Never mind that Fox theoretically serves at the pleasure of the entire board. Her real bosses appear to be Alston and commissioners Vice Chairman Steve Arnold.

The same Alston and Arnold who have conspired to run the county like a business -- their personal business. That means they'll tell us stuff that affects us if and when they're good and ready.

How the commissioners keep getting away with these shenanigans defies explanation.

...Going forward, this has to change. Once we were able to pry loose the information from the county, we were told the looming deficit could range between $20 million and $25 million.

We are not afraid to entrust the American people

with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies

and competitive values

For a nation afraid to let its people judge truth and falsehood…

is a nation afraid of its people

John F Kennedy

...But the commissioners repeatedly slam doors in the public's face on public matters.

Alston, Arnold and Fox are easy targets, but frankly, most of the blame lies elsewhere.

The current state of affairs in county government has been created mostly by the collective impotence of the other nine commissioners, who have voted in Alston and Arnold for two consecutive terms as chairman and vice chairman.

...by and large the commissioners don't see anything wrong.

Commissioner Linda Shaw said last week that Fox should have provided the information that Coleman and Cashion had requested.

Beyond that, it's a wonderful life. "I like the way things are going," Shaw said.

That's why, when the tea party holds its next rally in Greensboro, maybe it should aim some of its ire at Guilford County, where government decides what's right for us and when to tell us what it wants us to know.

That's downright un-American.

I want my county back."

Allen Johnson
Greensboro News & Record

Follow the money

Deep Throat

Watergate whistleblower

Killian on Shaw and Spag

Smoking gun on Shaw and the bond controversy?
Joe Killian
Greensboro News and Record

What is Crony Capitalism?

Crony capitalism is a pejorative term

describing an allegedly capitalist economy in which success in business

depends on close relationships between businesspeople

and government officials.

.

It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits,

government grants, special tax breaks, and so forth.

Crony capitalism is believed to arise

when political cronyism spills over into the business world;

self-serving friendships and family ties

between businessmen and the government influence the economy and society

to the extent that it corrupts public-serving economic and political ideals.

In its lightest form, crony capitalism consists of collusion among market players.

.

While perhaps lightly competing against each other,

they will present a unified front to the government

in requesting subsidies or aid.

…it is not uncommon for current industry players

to gain control of the “watchdog” and use it against competitors.

.

This phenomenon is known as regulatory capture.

A famous early example in the United States

would be the Interstate Commerce Commission,

which was established in 1887 to regulate the railroad “robber barons;”

instead, it quickly became controlled by the railroads,

which set up a permit system that was used to deny access to new entrants.

Crony Capitalism

Wikipedia

If Greensboro and Guilford County are infected with Crony Capitalism,
how can we fix our political system
to offer businesses looking to expand or relocate a level playing field?

Another Episode of Robbie's Recusals from Greensboro City Council Meetings

During the Greensboro City Council meeting on April 20, 2010 Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins added another recusal to his resume. Video below.

REGULAR MEETING


TUESDAY

APRIL 20, 2010

5:30 P.M.

COUNCIL CHAMBER
21. Resolution approving the proposed amendments to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Plan, Target Area and Budget for submittal to the North Carolina Division of Community Assistance. (Council District: all) (roll call vote) (Attachment #21 to Councilmembers)


22. Resolution approving allocation of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds for support of a Permanent Supportive Housing Project recommended by the Community Resource Board and authorizing the City Manager to execute loan documentation. (Council District: 3) (roll call vote) (Attachment #22 to Councilmembers)


Robbie Perkins says in the video that one of our real estate brokers found this piece of land for Mr. Levy and his group and have a direct financial interest and need to abstain. Just a few questions in just how did your real estate broker find this property? Was there any inside maneuvering for this property?

This concludes another episode of Robbies Recusals

HAT TIP Piedmont Publius CLICKHERE

Here is what Piedmont Publius had to say about this

"The item was to allocate Neighborhood Stabilization funds for a public housing project to be located near the corner of N. Elm and Pisgah Church Road. The city housing planner told the council that the 20-unit project had a total cost of $2 million, $800,000 of which would be provided by the city.



Before the discussion, council member Robbie Perkins said he had to abstain from the discussion and the vote because one of his brokers found the property for the developer an thusd he had a “direct financial interest.”


I’m not sure who’s providing Perkins’ brokering fee, but an average citizen would look at this and say a public official is profiting from a project that is receiving taxpayer funds. That never looks good.


By the way, the item passed with an 8-0 vote with practically no discussion or debate, something I like to call a ‘City Council special.’"

TO BE CONTINUED

Deep Thoughts on the Nussbaum Center, by John Hammer

"…Tuesday night was the second time the City Council had heard a plea for $1.2 million from the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship.

…The total cost of renovating the Carolina Steel corporate headquarters to make it suitable for a business incubator is estimated at $4 million, and Funchess gave the impression that if he didn't get the $1.2 million from the city that the Nussbaum Center couldn't operate.

That is true if a business has to have $75,000 for "Executive Conference Room Furniture," $125,000 for "Large Conference Room Furniture," and $250,000 for "Office Furniture."

Perhaps at the Nussbaum Center now, they are all sitting on the floor, or maybe they have an old bean bag chair, because it would appear they can't move the furniture that they have over to the old Carolina Steel corporate headquarters.

…The cost for "Signage" is estimated at $50,000. But the "Training Room Equipment" is a mere $25,000. They are moving into a building that is 20,000 square feet smaller than where they are now, and they plan to spend $485,000 on furniture and displays, not counting the $250,000 for telephone and communications equipment, or the $50,000 for "Building Maintenance Equipment," yet they still plan to spend $100,000 on moving expenses.

…They want the taxpayers of the city to pony up $1.2 million so that they can put $250,000 in a savings account, officially called a "Building Maintenance Reserve Fund." And they also want $413,000 for an "Operating Capital and Reserve Fund." So they want the city taxpayers to cough up $1.2 million so they can put $663,000 in savings accounts.

Funchess explained that the current business plan for the Nussbaum Center was that it rented 80,000 square feet of space from Revolution Mills for $2 a square foot and rented it out to businesses at about $15 a square foot. That would give the Nussbaum Center a healthy revenue stream and, according to the tax records, the center's revenue is over $500,000 a year.

… in the new building, the Nussbaum Center will have 60,000 square feet and it won't be paying any rent. If the city ponies up the money, then running the Nussbaum Center will involve no financial worries at all – nothing like a start-up business.

After the meeting Thompson noted that the Nussbaum Center would no longer have any rent to pay, so he didn't understand why it couldn't take the money it was paying in rent and use that to make payments on a loan. He also said he was going to have trouble voting to give money to the center so that it could compete with businesses trying to rent out office space."

John Hammer
Rhino

Think ≠ Chess

Known and unknown,
you were, are and will be pieces of varying value,
in an infinite number of games.

All animals are equal,
but some animals are more equal than others.

George Orwell

You may or may not be playing the games you think.

The chess board is the world,
the pieces are the phenomena of the universe,
the rules of the game are what we call the laws of nature,
the player on the other side is hidden from us.

Thomas Huxley

Are the only two certainties
that there are at least two players,
you and everything that’s not?

Guilford County Commissioner Linda Shaw Speaks: Is It Illegal or Ethical on What She Said? Video Embedded

During the Guilford County Commissioners meeting on April 15, 2010, Commissioner Linda Shaw had something to say about the upcoming primary, click on the embedded video above.

As you can see from this video, it seems that Guilford County Commissioner Linda Shaw thinks it is OK to say during a commissioner's meeting that if you live in Stokesdale, Summerfield, Oak Ridge and northern part of Greensboro, Linda Shaw would appreciate your vote for her in the upcoming republican primary.

This might not be illegal, but it sure is unethical for a commissioner to say this during a meeting.

The Guilford County Commissioners meeting gets televised all over the area from cable channel 8 on time warner. This is why we see some people talk about the equal time that opponents want in elections because the incumbents have a huge advantage if they are going to do unethical acts like Commissioner Linda Shaw did during the meeting, in telling people in the third district that she would appreciate their vote.

You can also hear the laughing in the background at the end and the videographer panning back to Chairman Skip Alston laughing.

This was not funny and needs to be addressed by the county attorney.

This type of unethical behavior needs to stop, and for the record the county attorney Mark Payne should completely strike what Commissioner Linda Shaw said from the record, and take it off the county web site of video.

If they repeat this meeting on cable access channel 8 then take it off as well. During the next Guilford County Commissioners meeting, Linda Shaw should state that she made a mistake and would also like to say that you can also vote for Sam Spagnola as well in the primary if you live in oak ridge, summerfield, stokesdale and northern parts of Greensboro for equal time to all candidates.

We will see what happens next, but this act by Commissioner Linda Shaw might not be illegal but surely it is unethical.

Are Matt Brown, the City Budget Director and the City Manager cooking the Coliseum’s books?

...We are projecting the Coliseum Complex's operating budget deficit
for the FY 2010/11 to be $1,587,542
or $245,910 or 15% lower than FY 09/10 Operating Budget Deficit.

This marks the sixth year in a row that the Coliseum Complex has reported a lower year end deficit than had been budgeted.

Matt Brown
Memo to City Council,
WMC, Rashad Young, Bob Morgan, R. Lusk, L. Davis, J. Fletcher and S. Johnson
April 12, 2010
Via Tony Wilkins
.

“The City Budget Director agreed with our request that funding for the three scheduled roof repairs should come under the auspices of the City General Capital Repair account resulting in the removal of this $125,000 budgeted expense in the Coliseum Complex budget.

The City Manager agreed...the two lease payments of $100,000 and $156,000 should not be charged against the Coliseum Operating Budget…”

Matt Brown
Memo to WMC, Rashad Young and Bob Morgan, but not City Council
April 16, 2010
Via Tony Wilkins

Why Doesn't the Greensboro Coliseum Complex Operating Budget include Principle and Interest payments for outstanding debt?

"CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION*

Total Coliseum Coliseum Improvements Outstanding Debt $14,115,000

*Certificates of participation issued for Coliseum expansion will be repaid with Hotel/Motel Tax revenues."

http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/B92C152B-6522-4952-A9EC-5F1BFC24D9C7/0/2_debtservicefund.pdf
Page 132

Coliseum Update: Budget Cut 15%, No Hockey
Tony Wilkins
April 16, 2010

What were the Hotel/Motel tax revenues relative to the debt payments,
relative to the operating budget?

Does the City of Greensboro cover about 19% of the Coliseum's budget, even after Rashad Young let Matt Brown off the hook for the Canada Dry leases?

Coliseum Update: Budget Cut 15%, No Hockey
Tony Wilkins
Busy Being Born, April 16, 2010

...We are projecting the Coliseum Complex's operating budget deficit

for the FY 2010/11 to be $1,587,542

or $245,910 or 15% lower than FY 09/10 Operating Budget Deficit.

Matt Brown

Memo to City Council,

WMC, Rashad Young, Bob Morgan, R. Lusk, L. Davis, J. Fletcher and S. Johnson

April 12, 2010

Via Tony Wilkins

Total Indirect Expenses: $8,313,114

divided by

Net Income(Loss) $1,587,542

=(19.1%), which would have been (22%) if the $256,000 was included

The City Manager agreed

...the two lease payments of $100,000 and $156,000

should not be charged against the Coliseum Operating Budget.

Matt Brown

Memo to WMC, Rashad Young and Bob Morgan, but not City Council

April 16, 2010

Via Tony Wilkins

Guilford County School Budget Factoids

"...Green recommended that the school board ask the commissioners for $3.4 million more in county funding for its operating budget and $3 million more in capital funding to cover building maintenance.

We're in a crisis situation

Skip Alston

...Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston [GH: who wanted to profit from Guilford County building a parking deck for the downtown hotel?] made it clear that he expects the school board to make active budget cuts...

...The current state budget eliminates $9 million in funding for Guilford County Schools for 2010-2011, and North Carolina State Superintendent June Atkinson on March 1 told school systems to plan for additional reductions in state funding of up to 4 percent, which for Guilford County Schools would be $13.8 million. Green has requested a $651 million budget for Guilford County Schools for 2010-2011, $9 million more than this year's $642 million budget.

...The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education has already approved a reduction in force of 600 employees.

...Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has 9,000 teachers and a total of 19,000 employees. It's almost twice the size of Guilford County Schools, which has 5,000 teachers and 10,000 employees.

Given the possible numbers of layoffs in other school systems such as Charlotte's, Green's plan to eliminate 25 positions, only one of which was filled, didn't sound like fat-cutting to the commissioners. Those 25 positions are a quarter of one percent of the Guilford County Schools workforce." [GH: Compared to about 3.2% for Charlotte]

Paul Clark
Rhino

Is the Greensboro News and Record’s Editorial Board financially and fiscally illiterate?

…Guilford County Manager Brenda Jones Fox's extra-lean budget…

Greensboro News and Record Editorial Board

April 17, 2010

To not raise taxes, does Guilford County, NC intend to spend $36,695,976 more than expected revenue in FY 2010-11?

Is Guilford County, NC going to burn through $89,857,200 of savings in two years?

Does Guilford County, NC’s proposed budget spend $17,210,932 or 25,045,979 less?

Should Guilford County’s children be liable for the shortsightedness of their parents political leaders?

The degree to which you resist injustice

is the degree to which you are free

Utah Phillips

Labor organizer, Anarchist

Why would some of one generation
want to covertly confiscate another’s wealth?

If you found the present negatively affecting the future
should you try to fix it?

The era of procrastination, of half-measures

of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays is coming to a close

In its place, we are entering a period of consequence

Winston Churchill

Will the residents of Guilford County, North Carolina
betray the financial stability of their children’s financial future
for a more pleasant present?

To not raise taxes, does Guilford County, NC
intend to spend $36,695,976 more than expected revenue in FY 2010-11?

Is Guilford County, NC going to burn through $89,857,200 of savings in two years?

Does Guilford County, NC’s proposed budget spend $17,210,932 or 25,045,979 less?

Is Robbie Perkins receiving a tax break from Guilford County as 65 jobs serving the poor, emergency services and libraries are eliminated?

Guilford proposes $17 million cut
Joe Killian
Greensboro News and Record, April 16, 2010

The Shoppes at Gunter’s Crossing
Fec
Sunday, April 4, 2010

Is Robbie Perkins suggesting the county give him a tax break as we cut school budgets by $27,000,000?
Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Chester Brown and Guilford County Commissioner Steve Arnold , We Know Who You Are
Sunday, April 4, 2010

Greensboro's Urban Loop Could We Get A 3-d Visual Like The 485 in Charlotte Video Embedded

HAT TIP : Charlotte Blog CLICKHERE

There has been a lot of talk about the urban loop coming through Greensboro . It would be great to get a rendering like the one embedded above on the Greensboro Urban Loop coming through the Northern parts of Greensboro and Guilford County.

Here is a few links to the Greensboro Urban Loop coming through Greensboro

Greensboro City's Official web site CLICKHERE
Ex Mayor Johnson on Urban Loop CLICKHERE
Battle Forest post on Vie De Malchance blog CLICKHERE

This issue of the urban loop coming through Northern Greensboro and Guilford County should be on everyone's radar screen. This is a major transportation project that will change the whole landscape of all who live around this area especially near lawndale and battleground avenue.

Is Allen Johnson’s cranial appendage lodged within Matt Brown’s sphincter/rectum?

"The show won't go on

…In a 5-4 vote, the City Council last week said no to the 1,300-seat amphitheater that would have been built there. Coliseum Managing Director Matt Brown had envisioned the facility as a viable complement to the arena's various indoor venues."

The same Matt Brown who said the amphitheater would only cost $95,000?

The same Matt Brown who says the Aquatic Center will be profitable?

"…All jokes aside, [Brown] made a solid case for an amphitheater. For a relatively small total investment of $380,461, the facility would have generated a projected $149,000 in annual revenue for the coliseum, which is saddled with annual operating deficits."

Isn’t Greensboro’s City Council supposed to pre-approve coliseum projects more than $300,000?

Does Revenue equal profit? 1,300 x 10 = $13,000 plus parking plus concessions

"The total price tag would not have included a permanent stage, sound towers and a roof, which would have been added as funding became available. But a portable stage trailer already owned by the coliseum would have been used in the meantime."

So the total cost would have been far more than $380,461?

"Existing coliseum staff would have managed the facility, and the bulk of the construction expenses would have been derived from sponsorship revenues that will be available only this year."

About the sponsorship revenues:

Why only this year?

Would they have been transferred from somewhere else?

Would they be new dollars?

What would have been bartered for in return?

Is the sponsorship money coming in regardless?

"...The coliseum projects a deficit this year of $1,712,589. Only $190,000 in non-operating budget money remained to be spent on the amphitheater."

Coliseum Director Matt Brown had proposed spending $190,000 in revenue generated from Pepsi and Siemens sponsorships to finish the job.
Yes Weekly

Is the $190,000 sponsorship money or a euphemism?

"…Brown said the overhead expense for the facility would be negligible."

Really?

"But for such a relatively small investment (by contrast, the planned aquatics center on the site will cost $18.8 million) this would have been a helpful revenue center for the coliseum and a useful hub for community events as well as small concerts."

With a $9.2 budget shortfall before taking into account North Carolina’s $391 fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 problem, and next year's potential $1.2 billion cuts on top of what Guilford County is probably going to shortchange Greensboro with, does mentioning the Aquatic Center the Editorial Board supported even though they admitted the numbers were bogus seem intelligence insulting yet?

Is the Greensboro News and Record Editorial Board saying it’s OK for community leaders to lie to the public?
January 19th, 2010

"The critics who gave this show a thumbs-down were far too quick with their trigger fingers."

At what point could readers lose faith in the ability of opinionators to competently perform economic feasibility analysis?

Greensboro News and Record Editorial Board
Tuesday, April 13, 2010

P.S. As the still unreleased recording of the only debate between Zack and me, the Editorial Board was informed of the then forthcoming City, County and State Budget issues in detail.

Maybe the Federal Government will bail us out.

Is Greensboro News and Record’s Editorial Board asking the Federal Government to bail out North Carolina after promoting profligate borrowing and spending?
December 4th, 2009

PART 2 : It Is Time For The Greensboro City Council To Take The TREBIC Blinders Off and Require Neighborhood Meetings

Here we go again, not even a month later, another rezoning case where the applicant didn't meet with the neighborhood in Greensboro.

Last month TRIADWATCH posted this CLICKHERE .

The Greensboro Zoning Commission on 4-12-2010 had this a an agenda item;

Z-10-04-002 - 3500, 3502 and 3504 Church Street (Northeast corner of the intersection of Church Street and Denny Road) – An ordinance rezoning from RS-9 (Residential-Single Family) to CD-LB (Conditional District-Limited Business) *[CD-C-L (Conditional District-Commercial-Low)] with the following conditions:
1. Uses: All uses allowed in the LB zoning district except convenience stores (with fuel pumps) and any use with a drive-thru.


2. Hours of operation shall be limited to 6:00 AM thru 10:00 PM.
3. Where the property abuts a designated transit stop, the developer shall provide an easement and concrete pad(s) built to GTA standards for a bus stop if one is requested by any transit authority.
– for property located at 3500, 3502 and 3504 Church Street, generally described as the northeast corner of the intersection of Church Street and Denny Road (0.85 Acres)
– Alejandro Rocha Perez for Avreliano Rocha.(Sheet(s) 127)

As you can see from the video above Greensboro Zoning Commission, member Cyndy Hayworth was not impressed with how they didn't meet with the neighborhood especially with this case going from residential to commercial. The irony of this rezoning is that the person speaking for the applicant was Emily Arzate from Keller Williams Real Estate Agency. She should have known better even being in the real estate business to meet with the neighborhood on a commerical rezoning.

We need to ask the Greensboro Planning Department if they are letting these applicants know what is in their best interest to meet with the neighborhood on rezoning cases.

Triadwatch has been talking in the past about how neighborhoods all over Greensboro have been getting the short end of the stick in the zoning process.

As you can see from the video above from 4-12-2010 and from this video on 3-8-2010 as well CLICKHERE

We had a applicant who was changing a property from residential to commercial and didn't even bother talking with the neighborhood about the rezoning. It is time for the Greensboro City Council to take their Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition(TREBIC) Blinders Off and make a requirement for the applicant to have a REQUIRED MEETING 21 days before the zoning commission meeting.

The City of Greensboro is in the process of maybe approving this new Land Development Ordinance and the part of the zoning process has a watered version called "meet and confer," which should be mandatory.

There has been plenty of talk about this issue, but I wanted to bring you a video to show what went on at the zoning commission this past week and to reiterate to citizens in Greensboro to write or call or e-mail your city council members to let them know that a requirement to meet with the neighborhood needs to be a part of the process.

Below is a few more posts on this subject

Greensboro Neighborhood Congress Has Issues With The New Land Development Ordinance Rewrite For Greensboro CLICKHERE

Greensboro Neighborhoods Will Not Get A Fair Shake In The Zoning Process Thanks To TREBIC
CLICKHERE

A question for all 2010 Piedmont Triad Area canidates for elected office

If a community pledges some of its children’s future income
as collateral for long-term debt
is every $1 of additional new borrowing
an indirect tax increase?

Debts are fun when you are acquiring them

but none are fun when you set about retiring them

Ogden Nash

Debt is the fatal disease of republics
the first thing and the mightiest to undermine governments
and corrupt the people

Wendell Phillips

I place economy among the first and most important virtues

and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared

…we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt

Thomas Jefferson

If Joe said Linda said X, and Linda denies it, and then Sam says Linda said X, and Linda denies it, should Linda take a lie detector test?

If I were two-faced

would I be wearing this one?

Abraham Lincoln

Shaw may see challenge in Republican primary
Joe Killian
Greensboro News and Record, February 19, 2010

Arguing over an argument
Joe Killian
Greensboro News and Record, February 25, 2010

My opinions will never change

no matter what the facts are

Steven Colbert

News & Record Gets It Wrong Under Alias
John Hammer
Rhino, February 25, 2010

Everyone There Says N&R Got It Wrong
John Hammer
Rhino, March 04, 2010

Commissioners Blast N&R
Scott D. Yost
Rhino, March 11, 2010

Freedom of the press

is guaranteed only to those who own one

A J Liebling

But then............

Candidates dispute incumbent's statement on taxes
Jordan Green
Yes Weekly, 04/12/2010

Shaw Did Say County Would Have To Raise Taxes
Spag, 04/12/2010

.

County Commissioner Linda Shaw: Raising Taxes Will be Necessary

Gaurino, April 11, 2010
.
Will the Rhino back Linda again?

Does it seem like the establishment is protecting thier own?

Should John Hammer and Scott Yost take a polygraph?

Should Skip?

Would Spag and BJ agree to take a lie detector test?

.

If the Skip and Linda story isn't true, why didn't the News and Record publish a correction?

.

How can a Commissioner vote to borrow money without raising taxes?

.

Were the bonds advertized with offsetting budget cuts to pay for them?

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement

The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth

Niels Bohr

Does Skip Alston know what he doesn't know about Guilford County's budget?

A trite, meaningless, biased, or prosaic statement

that is presented as if it were significant and original.

Platitude

Wikipedia

...Commissioners Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston reiterated a promise there would be no tax increase, saying in other published reports that he was “100 percent” confident.

[Commissioner Kirk Perkins] said Alston might be working more closely with the county manager on the budget and have more knowledge than other commissioners.

That’s something Alston strongly denied at the last budget committee meeting, saying he didn’t have current budget shortfall figures.

Joe Killian
Greensboro News and Record, April 9, 2010

On Shaw, Spag, Stanely and Bencini at the League of Women Voters-sponsored candidates' forum at Greensboro College

"...Myrene Stanley, an orthodontic lab technician, and Bill Bencini, a High Point city councilmember who runs a company that supplies materials to furniture makers are both Republicans seeking the District 2 seat that serves the High Point area and that has been held for the past 20 years by Commissioner Steve Arnold.

...Commissioner Linda Shaw and attorney Samuel "Spag" Spagnola, who are both Republicans seeking the District 3 seat Shaw currently holds. District 3 includes much of northwest Guilford County including Oak Ridge.

Shaw has held the District 3 seat for a decade, and Spagnola, who wants to take that seat away from her, is an attorney who practices a lot of family law, works frequently with juvenile delinquents as part of his job, and handles bankruptcies.

"I'm not your average attorney running for office," Spagnola said.

He said, for instance, that he chose not to be a member of the American Bar Association. "I don't care for their politics," he said.

Spagnola has been critical of Shaw for voting for economic incentives for rich companies over the years...

Shaw defended her votes on incentives.

...Shaw added that, during her time on the board, incentives have cost the county about $15 million, but had helped, she said, bring in over $1 billion of revenue and helped create 7,779 jobs.

What Shaw didn't say was that, in all likelihood, many of those companies – if not all – would have located in Guilford County even if they hadn't gotten incentives from the county.

On the issue of incentives, Stanley, who during some answers was reading from her notes, said that, with around 11 percent unemployment in the county, some incentives might be a good idea if they were effective ones.

Spagnola said careful planning and a low tax rate, rather than incentives, are the type of things that will bring jobs to the county. He said he didn't buy the argument that the county had to offer incentives to be competitive for jobs. "Bad policy is never a necessary evil," Spagnola said.

Bencini said he thought the most effective way to bring jobs to the area would be by shaping up the community, and by, say, providing attractions such as nice parks and sports complexes.

...Shaw emphasized a need to get city water to Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Military Academy. "It's a desperate need," Shaw said.

...On the issue of saving taxpayer money and cutting costs, Spagnola said consolidation where possible was one answer.

...Stanley said she did think there were some possibilities where the cities, the towns and the county could consolidate services and save money – she mentioned planning services and trash collection. Since the county doesn't do trash collection, it would be difficult to consolidate, but no one mentioned that at the forum.

Bencini came right out and said he was very skeptical of the whole idea. "I'm not that enthusiastic" he said of consolidating services in an attempt to save money."

Scott Yost
Rhino

Reverand Cardes Brown Please Tell Us Where You Got This Information about Ex Police Chief David Wray Video Embedded

At the Greensboro City Council meeting on 4-6-2010 during the speakers from the floor Reverand Cardes Brown had this to say video embedded.Please tell us how you got this information?

Does High Point's Steve Arnold want to increase taxes on Greensboro to benefit Guilford County?

"Arnold said he expects the county's funding for libraries to remain near the levels in the current budget, and he added that at some point in the future the county should consider increasing the fee it charges Greensboro for collecting the city's taxes. He said Greensboro gets a deal on that service compared with what the city charges other towns and cities in the county for collecting their taxes."

Scott Yost
Rhino, April 8, 2010

Deep Thoughts on City Council vs City Staff, by John Hammer

"...a classic case of the city staff versus the City Council.

The City Council said it wanted a no-tax-increase budget,
so the staff came back with the proposed cuts that will cause the most public outcry.

...note that these suggested cuts directly impact the citizens, taxpayers and voters.

There were few suggestions that an administrative aide whose workload has dropped because of the down economy be terminated. City offices are full of people who don't provide direct services to the public and their jobs appear to be safe because the criteria for suggesting cuts is that it has to be something that will cause an uproar so the council will decide that it is a necessary service.

...what the City Council talked about a lot was not reducing spending but increasing revenue, which means charging the citizens that use services more money for those services.

The council is big into raising parking fees downtown and parking fines. "

John Hammer
The Rhinoceros Times, April 8, 2010

Jim Kee

You cannot control how other people see you,
but you can control how you see other people and how you see yourself.

If we are going to progress as a people, as a city,
then we need to start focusing on the things that we have in common
rather than things that separate us.

Jim Kee
Via the Rhino

Do Skip and Deena want Guilford County Taxpayers to fund a hotel parking deck with our kid’s school money?

Fungibility is the property of a good or a commodity

whose individual units are capable of mutual substitution.

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungibility

Schools should cut and trust more, commissioners say
J. Brian Ewing
Greensboro News and Record, April 8, 2010

School budget shortfall could hit $27 million for coming year
J. Brian Ewing
Greensboro News and Record, April 6, 2010

Word for the day: Fungible

Fungible means interchangeable.

The word comes into play when earmarked funds

end up in a general account.

These funds are then free to be used for purposes other than intended.

http://blog.mises.org/archives/007321.asp#

Fecund Stench FOIA Requests for Rashad Young and Brenda Fox Jones on Robbie Perkins and Guilford County Commissioners

The great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearance

as though they were realities,

and are often more influenced by the things that seem,

than those that are.

Niccolo Machiavelli

FOIA Requests
http://fecundstench.com/WordPress/?p=12227#comments

…request access to and copies of all correspondence of any kind

between City Councilman Robbie Perkins and any Guilford County Commissioner

regarding Granite Church Street, LLC

and its application for property tax grants.

Jeff Martin

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Could many Greensboro residents become angry after losing leaf collection to a swimming pool they may never use?

Why is this thus?

What is the reason for this thusness?

Artemus Ward

Curb leaf pickup, jobs may vanish in Greensboro budget

Amanda Lehmert

Greensboro News and Record, April 7, 2010

Why would Greensboro's elected leaders force senior citizens and the infirmed to bag leaves, and cancel summer activities for kids, in order to build a swimming pool for a few, marketed to the public under nefarious and conjured imaginings?

If Greensboro’s City Council approves a profligate debt expense for a swimming pool as Greensboro’s tax revenues fall, will our community create jobs for what some want, by eliminating needed civil service employment as unavoidable budget cuts become necessary to support overleveraged principle and interest obligations?

November 28th, 2009

Why would the “Consultant” who created a $14,337,210 hypothetical economic impact “projection,” say only debt free competitive swim centers work?

December 3rd, 2009

Greensboro Swim Center Hypothetical

December 6th, 2009

Could an unintended consequence of Greensboro, North Carolina City Council’s plan to borrow to fund a Swimming Pool as revenues fall, be the loss of needed city jobs, if debt service payments overwhelm the budget?

December 9th, 2009

Why would who have wanted Greensboro’s City Council to vote on the Swim Center before new members were sworn in?

December 9th, 2009

If Greensboro’s Convention and Visitors Bureau figured 6,000 relatively less affluent student athletes created $17 million for the local economy, why and how did who figure 7,850 relatively more affluent student and adult swim meet participants would only bring in $14 million?

December 11th, 2009

Are some promoting the Aquatic Center using the support of Greensboro’s swimming enthusiasts as a means to bailout local hotel/restaurant/commercial real estate interests with taxpayer money?

December 11th, 2009

Is the Greensboro News and Record Editorial Board saying it’s OK for community leaders to lie to the public?

January 19th, 2010

Part 2: Guilford County Commissioners Yow and Perkins on Conflicts of Interest Video Embedded

This is part 2 of a previous post CLICKHERE in regards to a new incentive policy from the  Guilford County Commissioners. Billy Yow is wanting to abstain from voting on this particular agenda item because of a CONFLICT OF INTEREST.Let's define what a conflict of interest is from dictionary.com ,

CONFLICT OF INTEREST 

–noun
1.the circumstance of a public officeholder, business executive, or the like, whose personal interests might benefit from his or her official actions or influence: The senator placed his stocks in trust to avoid possible conflict of interest.
2.the circumstance of a person who finds that one of his or her activities, interests, etc., can be advanced only at the expense of another of them.

In the video embedded above let's start out and give Commissioner Yow a little help on when he needs to abstain because it takes you close to five minutes into the discussion for you to ask the chairman that you need to abstain. In the future it would be wise even before they talk about this item or any item you abstain from that you need to do it before it comes in front of council not five minutes into the discussion.NOTE(above video was cut down to when Commissioner Yow started to speak, Commissioner Gibson spoke before to make it be close to 5 minutes before Commissioner Yow spoke to abstain)

Commissioner Yow was trying to do the ethical thing on this incentive policy to give money to this granite church development property off of church street and N.C. 150 and abstain but Commissioner Perkins starting at the 1 minute time period wanted Commissioner Yow to state his conflict of interest and if it really is a conflict of interest.This embedded video is a must to see Commissioner Perkins look silly trying to question Commissioner Yow on his conflict of interest.

Commissioner Yow has and might in the future because of his day job which is well drilling and water pump testing have business with granite church development. Who is to know if this incentive money that just got approved was the money to pay back Commissioner Yow on this development project. He needed to abstain from this vote for plenty of reasons. As you can see in the video Commissioner Perkins doesn't think that there is a conflict of interest and wanted to get a little clarification from the county attorney Mark Payne who stated that this was not his call but the commissioners call. The county attorney should have seen from the facts that this was a conflict and stated to Commissioner Perkins that it was.

Commissioner Perkins let's explain to you what a conflict of interest is on this issue. Commissioner Billy Yow is the well driller for this project which means he got money from granite church development. Then we see that this company comes in front of your board the Guilford County Commissioners to ask for this  GUILFORD COUNTY COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT POLICY taxpayer handout. Then the Commissioner Yow wants to abstain from the vote because he has done work for this company and they might expand in future and do more work for them and it might be that the GUILFORD COUNTY COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT POLICY might be the money that pays Commissioner Yow in future , who knows.

To see a sitting Guilford County Commissioner want to question this conflict of interest is amazing to see and the embedded video will give you a better look at what happened. Hope this was a good explanation and if confused watch the embedded video.

Is GSO’s City Council suggesting we borrow $19,000,000 to build a ritzy swimming pool while cutting summer activities at 14 city parks?

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul,
can always depend on the support of Paul.

George Bernard Shaw

Proposed job, service cuts included in city budget
Amanda Lehmert
Greensboro News and Record

Is Robbie Perkins suggesting the county give him a tax break as we cut school budgets by $27,000,000?

School budget shortfall could hit $27 million for coming year
J. Brian Ewing
Greensboro News and Record, April 6, 2010

Chester Brown and Guilford County Commissioner Steve Arnold , We Know Who You Are

Bizarre Incentives Passed by County Commissioners

The Shoppes at Gunter’s Crossing

Chester Brown and Guilford County Commissioner Steve Arnold , We Know Who You Are, Video Embedded

At the March 4, 2010 Guilford County Commissioners meeting there was an agenda item below in regards to a new policy from the Guilford County Commissioners called the  Guilford County Commercial Investment Policy Program.Below is part of the application from Granite Church Street LLC.

Guilford County Commercial Investment Policy Program - Public Hearing for the purpose of receiving public input on a request that the Commissioners consider awarding an investment grant for each year for three (3) consecutive years to Granite Church Street, LLC for improvements consisting of a shopping center and retail shops at 5820-5828 Church Street. The investment grant for each of the three (3) years may be an amount up to 0.7374% of the increase in County property tax base over the amount of the property tax base prior to the qualified improvements. The projected real investment for this project based on applicant's information is estimated to be $5,628,079 with an anticipated new job creation of 164

HOLD PUBLIC HEARING ON GUILFORD COUNTY COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT POLICY, after which take the following actions:



1. Consider a commercial investment grant for Granite Church Street, LLC for its development at 5820-5828 Church Street for three (3) consecutive years. Consistent with the Commercial Investmnet Policy, the investment grant for each of the three (3) years may be an amount up to 0.7374% of the actual increase in County property tax base over the amount of the property tax base prior to the qualified improvements. The investment grant for this project based upon applicant's information is estimated to be $41,504 per year (an estimated total of $124,504 for three years).


2. Authorize the County Manager to execute an agreement consistent with the Guilford County Commercial Investment Policy to provide public funds in an amount up to 0.7374% of the actual increase in County property tax base over the amount of the property tax base prior to the qualified improvements. Terms of agreement consistent with Commercial Investment Policy and subject to staff approval.

_________________________________________________________________________________
 The Greensboro News & Record had a article out with a title "Incentives Lose Favor in Tough Times" CLICKHERE . Then we find out from Vie De Malchance about just who is a part of the Granite Church Street LLC, CLICKHERE  with pictures of the proposed development in question called The Shoppes at Gunter's Crossing.

Why are we giving away taxpayer money to a project that is already going to be built and is in the process of getting built. This whole policy could be illegal anyway just check out this article in business journal CLICKHERE . Also in this article in the business journal it states this"Ernie Pearson, a Raleigh-based attorney for Nexsen Pruet, has been working with the county on its proposal." How much wasted taxpayers money did it cost to use this law firm ?Let's give the award to outgoing Guilford County Commissioner Steve Arnold for the PORKER AWARD given to a local government official who wants to waste government money on crap like this investment policy. Thanks for this gift out the door to your development cronies. 

Look at the first recipients of this policy it takes Chester Brown who is with Brown Investment Properties and looking at the Granite Church LLC is not even a owner to come in front of the county as their representative.Then we come to find out that Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins is a part of the ownership team along  John Stratton who had a contentious rezoning case with property on the corner of cornwallis and elm street in Greensboro here is a post about the relationship of Stratton and another Greensboro council member Zack Matheny CLICKHERE

In the video above you will hear County Commissioner Steve Arnold say this about Chester Brown," please state you name and address although i am sure we all already know".The cozy relationship between developers and the  Guilford County Commissioners can be summed up plenty in what Steve Arnold said above.We already know who you are there Chester Brown and with other developers on the county board in Mike Winstead, ex developer Steve Arnold, real estate broker Skip Alston, real estate appraiser Kirk Perkins,real estate broker John Parks, Billy Yow well driller for the developers and last but not least Linda Shaw who is not a developer but sure is cozy with them .

It is time to shine a little light on our Guilford County Commissioners because in a upcoming post you will see how Commissioner Billy Yow tried to take the ethical step in recuse himself from the above incentive grant but Commissioner Kirk Perkins could not understand what a conflict of interest was and is. More post to come on this issue.

Editorial Cartoons for Easter Weekend 2010 Topics:Dwindling Resource,Tea Party in Russia,Lame Duck, and President Obama's Milestone

Tea Party In Russia

Dwindling Resource

Lame Duck

President Obama's Milestone

ALG Editor's Note: William Warren's award-winning cartoons published at GetLiberty.org are a free service of ALG News Bureau. They may be reused and redistributed free of charge.

HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND!