What Jeff Hyde said before the Guilford County Commissioners' budget vote

"the debtor is slave to the lender"

This is an ancient proverb, written 4000 years ago.

It is a ___precept that civilizations world wide throughout history, diverse cultures, have espoused.

"the debtor is slave to the lender."

According to the Budget Documents prepared by County Manager Brenda Jones Fox
and available on the county website,
the Board of Commissioners are prepared to enslave us all.

The total Debt Service for 2011 is scheduled to be $77,837,113.00.

It comprises 13.5% of our budget.

In 2012, That debt service increases more than $10M to $88,530,030.00
or more than 15% of Brenda's Proposed Budget.

In 2013, Our County Debt Service will balloon to $103,617,969.00
and exceed the legal limit of our budget, by 20%.

As the debt service, principle and interest, of the county's bond debt, reaches illegal levels,
the county will be forced to spend all other money mandated areas.

There will be no discretionary spending.

If the county commissioners continue to borrow money,
there will not be any extra money for the One Step program, the Jamestown library,
or the Prison Farm, or even extra school teachers.

Regardless of the desires of county citizens to fund these programs and many others.

The County will be bankrupt by the tremendous debt load Your Board has placed upon it.

At the same time, according to Manager Fox,
property values will be lower in every commercial parcel, all multi-unit housing,
and any home with a current value of $300,000 or more.

The total value of Property in the County will be less.

Meanwhile, private homes less than $200,000 will have retained much of their value,
putting the vast burden of taxes on the very groups this board likes to champion.

The catastrophe set up by Brenda's Budget for our future is bleak for Guilford County.

It leads us down the road to Perdition.

I urge the Commissioner to consider opportunities to secure our future.

Vote against any new borrowing, vote against increased spending of any kind,
and vote for the security of children's future.

Quoting Joseph Wood Krutch:

'Security depends not so much upon how much you have,
as upon how much you can do without.'

Thank you.

Jeff Hyde