Charlotte Observer 2014 Tax Delinquency Bill $83,089 for 1 Day in Paper

 

Every year state law mandates that each county in the State of North Carolina provide a list of the tax delinquents for the previous year. Charlotte Observer's bill for 2014 =$83,089.

 

Taxpayers all over this state are getting hosed for having to pay this bill each year. In Guilford County they did it a little bit different because they were going way above and beyond to provide this information putting it in 3 newspapers Greensboro News and Record, High Point Enterprise and Carolina Peacemaker when in reality it only had to provide it in one publication. The Guilford County Commissioners finally made a request for proposal for this yearly bill and saved over $92,000 on this yearly hand out to the paid papers here is a link to that report CLICKHERE

 

Hopefully the citizens of Mecklenburg County can see what happened in Guilford County bid the process out and get the lowest bidder to provide this information. It will save plenty of taxpayers money in the process.

Guilford County Commissioners Save $92,000 with a Bid Process for the Tax Delinquency Bill

Above is the bill for last years tax delinquency from the Greensboro News and Record which if you take this years numbers $86,406 divided by 14,500 = $5.95 per line compared to below where they had to do a bid process with 3 other paid papers  and it was $28,855 divided by 14,500 = $28,855. How can one paper with no bid process charge $86,406 now with a bid process go down to $28,855?

What the Guillford County Commisioners did was a huge step in tax delinquency process where in the past they advertised in both News and Record, High Point Enterprise and also the Carolina Peacemaker . Under state law they only had to advertise in one paid paper that is where we had the request for proposal shown below. This bill to the taxpayers went from close to $97,975 to having the Jamestown News post the tax delinquency bill for 2013 at $5,945 a savings of
$92,030.

Granted this state law should go away with the invention of the internet and county web sites providing this information 24 hours a day and seven days a week but will take a savings of $92,000 on this for the citizens of Guilford County.

Triadwatch is doing some further investigation into what the Mecklenburg County Tax Department pays in regards to the tax delinquency bill to see if they have a bid process and what it cost the citizens of Mecklenburg to advertise in the Charlotte News and Observer. Stay tuned.

Inside Scoop had a post on this issue CLICKHERE

Guilford County in Process of Saving Tax Money Hint from Triadwatch on Tax Delinquency Wasted Government Money

HAT TIP : Rhino Times
Scott Yost has a new article titled "County to Stop Throwing Good Money After Bad Taxpayers".

in the article were some interesting tidbits

"However, at a Monday, Feb. 3, Guilford County Tax Committee meeting, the committee decided unanimously to recommend to the Board of Commissioners that the county cease its current process of widely publicizing the names, and instead do the bare minimum required by law."

"Guilford County Tax Director Ben Chavis told the commissioners there was no evidence the mass advertisements of names is effective in getting people to pay up.
 
“There’s no guarantee we’ll recover the advertising cost,” Chavis said.
 
Chavis said that from the studies he’s read as well as from his personal experience, putting the names out there for the public to see doesn’t really do much good"

Phillips said he wondered why it has taken so long for commissioners and other county officials to have this discussion, which could clearly save the county money.
 
“I’m fascinated by the fact that there’s never been an in-depth conversation like we’re having now,” Phillips said."

_______________________________________________________________________________

This blog has been all over this issue since it was brought up to the Guilford County Commissioners last year on January 17, 2013 by me with video starting at the 7 minute mark here is a link

http://guilford.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=710 note the audio is very low and hard to hear.

Commissioner Phillips has known about this issue for over a year unless he wasn't listening to the speaker from the floor on January 17, 2013 in Keith Brown speaking.

Hopefully we will see some drastic changes in our public notice laws modernize to the year 2014 and this tax delinquency waste of taxpayers money is a start. It is great to see our commissioners understand this and take steps to lower our taxes and what better way then to do away with the tax delinquency notices in 3 publications when the state only allows you to have to provide it in one paid publication.It will be interesting to see a bid process for this item when in reality the only ones in Guilford COunty who can bid on the tax delinquency notice is either Greensboro News and Record, High Point Enterprise or Carolina Peacemaker. Who wants the contract? or will we see Greensboro News and Record cry foul over bidding on this money they were getting in the past totaling close to $80,000

If you would like to see plenty on this topic this blog has tagged plenty of topics under

legal notice

public notice

News & Record : Guilford board debates delinquent tax list, NOT ONE MENTION OF THIS BLOG

News & Record : Guilford board debates delinquent tax list: An Example Description

Who has been all over this issue on public notices and the total waste of taxpayers money in the Greensboro News and Record? HERE

Thanks for the non mention of this blog in the article out today even after no reporting of me speaking in front of the Guilford County Commissioners back in January and being on top of this issue bringing it out for all to see.

Dump Public Notice in Greensboro News and Record Save Guilford County Taxpayers Money with a Local Bill for State

Triadwatch wrote a letter to the Guilford County Commissioners and is in process of contacting our North Carolina State Representatives to save the taxpayers of Guilford County on money that does not need to be sent to the state mandated under the law local papers in Greensboro News and Record, High Point Enterprise and Carolina Peacemaker. Here is the letter sent to our Guilford County Commissioners:
____________________________________________________________________________

Dear Guilford County Commissioner,

 I want to save the taxpayers of Guilford County money that does not need to be spent. This past year i did a public request for information on just how much Guilford County spent in advertisement in regards to tax delinquency and Gregory French Assistant Tax Director sent me this attachment you will find in this e mail. In the attachment the tax department under North Carolina General Statute 105-369 spent $97,949.98 with the break down of advertisement going to the Carolina Peacemaker for $7,724.80, High Point Enterprise $9,878.40 and Greensboro News and Record $80,746.78.

Talking with Mr. French he told me that the tax delinquency for Guilford County is already available on the Guilford County web site 24 hours a day and seven days a week under the area of on line tax services then search tax bills then a header called delinquent bill search.

I would like to have our Guilford County commissioners work with our state delegation to have this North Carolina General Statute repealed for Guilford County because we as a tax department already provide this information on line for all the citizens to see.

Please advise me on how we can save Guilford County taxpayers money on this issue. We have seen a lot of states all over the country propose public notice laws to save cash strapped budgets. Many of these state laws were enacted before the Internet came into existence and hopefully we can in Guilford County propose a bill to lead the state in reducing even something as small as the tax delinquency bill for our citizens.

Have a great day!

________________________________________________________________________________

 Below you will see the invoices from the three newspapers which total over $97,000. After speaking with the Guilford County  Commissioners this past week during speakers from the floor there was a rebuttal from Commissioner Coleman on that the tax department has a fee on top of their tax bill that covers this invoice. I want to say to the Commissioners and every other taxpayer in this county that i don't care if you are a tax delinquent or pay your bills on time this advertisement in the local paper is a complete waste of money anyway you look at it. This bill was first introduced in 1939 well before the Internet came into play and now we have our local tax department have this information available everyday on their web site. It is time for our State representatives to pass a bill to exempt Guilford County from N.C. State Bill 105-369

 

 

2012 tax delinquency bills for guilford county nc by

Loudoun County Virginia Bars Developers Campaign $, Guilford County Local Politicians Let's Try This

UPDATE: this is a repost from 2008 and wanted to share on TRIADWATCH

Loudoun Board Bars Use Of Builder Campaign Funds - washingtonpost.com
or click on the title above.

By Sandhya SomashekharWashington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 2, 2008; Page B01
Loudoun County supervisors voted yesterday to bar themselves from accepting campaign contributions from builders and others with proposals before the board as part of a broad effort to restore public confidence in a body that some have viewed as too close to the development community.
_______________________________________________________

Leesburg Today CLICKHERE for the whole article
07/04/2008
Loudoun Supervisors Restrict Contributions from Developers
By Erika Jacobson -
In an attempt to assure residents that there are no back-room agreements or conflicts of interest happening at the dais, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Tuesday adopted new policies limiting the action a supervisor could take on an application submitted by a campaign contributor.
"I think there has to be transparency in ethics and government. I think this takes us one step forward in making this distinction," Supervisor Susan Klimek Buckley (D-Sugarland Run) said.
Under the new policy, supervisors would be prohibited from taking campaign contributions from anyone with certain land use applications pending before the county from the time that application is submitted to six months after the board's action on the item or the withdrawal of the application. Applications included under the new policy are rezonings, special exceptions, proffer amendments, concept plan amendments, zoning appeals as well as any other appeals before the board of supervisors, Comprehensive Plan amendments and requests for early removal from Agricultural and Forestal District.
_______________________________________________________


Living in the Triad area of North Carolina my whole life. I'm saddened and disgusted by what seems to be serious misconduct involving local governmental officials, for example Heart of the Triad, campaign contributions, and developers plus their lawyers influence on boards and commissions in Guilford County and especially the city of Greensboro.

Triadwatch reported the influence of the developers on the Greensboro Land development ordinance committee CLICKHERE , also Jordan Green from Yes Weekly went farther with article on the developers more assertive on panel to rewrite Greensboro's land development ordinance CLICKHERE

We cannot ignore the substantial influence developers or their coalition called the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition also known as the TREBIC CARTEL have gained over the past decade in their pursuit of paving over every acre in Guilford County.

It is time we curb developers' influence by banning them from contributing to politicians who will decide on their zoning or land-use permits. It's also time we give the public a say in development proposals that impact their neighborhoods for example getting a bill passed to make Greensboro comply with a North Carolina General Statute called Protest Petitions.
A developer should not be allowed to financially contribute to a candidate for public office in a county or municipality in which they plan to seek government approval.I hope what has happened in Virginia trickles down south to North Carolina.

Brenda Jones Fox - Registered CPA, State of North Carolina

Brenda Jones Fox - Registered CPA, State of North Carolina

(a) … A CPA shall not engage in conduct discreditable to the accounting profession.

(b) Prohibited Discreditable Conduct.

Discreditable conduct includes but is not limited to:

(1) acts that reflect adversely on the CPA's honesty, integrity, trustworthiness,

good moral character, or fitness as a CPA in other respects;

(2) stating or implying

an ability to improperly influence a governmental agency or official;

21 ncac 08n .0203 DISCREDITABLE CONDUCT PROHIBITED

A CPA shall perform professional services competently and shall:

…(2) exercise due professional care in the performance of an engagement;

(3) adequately plan and supervise an engagement; and

(4) obtain sufficient relevant data to afford a reasonable basis for conclusions
or recommendations in relation to an engagement.

21 NCAC 08N .0212 COMPETENCE

The reliance of the public …on sound financial reporting and advice

on business affairs

imposes on the accounting profession an obligation to maintain high standards

of technical competence, morality, and integrity.

To this end, a CPA shall at all times maintain independence of thought and action,

…promote sound and informative financial reporting,

uphold the dignity and honor of the accounting profession,

and maintain high standards of personal conduct.

21 NCAC 08N .0201 INTEGRITY

(a) …When offering or rendering …management advice,
a CPA shall be objective and shall not place the CPA's own financial interests
nor the financial interests of a third party
ahead of the legitimate financial interests of …the public
in any context in which …the public can reasonably expect objectivity
from one using the CPA title.

…(e) A CPA shall communicate in advance to a client
the scope of services or products to be rendered or referred…

21 NCAC 08N .0303 OBJECTIVITY AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

(a) … A CPA shall not engage in deceptive conduct.

Deception includes fraud or misrepresentation and representations or omissions

which a CPA either knows or should know

have a capacity or tendency to deceive.

Deceptive conduct is prohibited

whether or not anyone has been actually deceived.

(b) Prohibited Deception. Prohibited conduct under this Section

includes but is not limited to deception in:

(1) … maintaining employment;

(3) obtaining …retired status, or exemption from peer review…

“You shall not raise a false report”

Exodus 23:1

(11) falsifying a review, report,

or any required program or checklist of any peer review program.

21 ncac 08n .0202 DECEPTIVE CONDUCT PROHIBITED

(a) … A CPA shall not act in a way
that would cause said CPA to be disciplined by federal or state agencies or boards
for violations of laws or rules on ethics.

CPAs who engage in activities regulated by other federal or state authorities
(including but not limited to the following agencies: …State Bar,
North Carolina Secretary of State, …State Auditor, State Treasurer,
or Local Government Commission)
must comply with all such authorities' ethics laws and rules.

(b) Prima Facie Evidence. A conviction or final finding of unethical conduct
by a competent authority is prima facie evidence of a violation of this Rule.

21 NCAC 08N .0204 DISCIPLINE BY FEDERAL AND STATE AUTHORITIES

A CPA shall not knowingly violate any state or federal tax laws or regulations

in handling the CPA's …business affairs of an employer…

21 NCAC 08N .0207 VIOLATION OF TAX LAWS

A CPA shall not willfully violate …any other provision of the Accountancy Statutes,
the Professional Corporation Act, the Partnership Act, the Taxation Act,
or the North Carolina Limited Liability Company Act.

21 NCAC 08N .0213 OTHER RULES

A CPA …shall be responsible for assuring compliance with the rules…

…whom the CPA supervises.

21 NCAC 08N .0103 RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMPLIANCE BY OTHERS

Jeff Phillips, Republican Nominee, Guilford County Commissioners, District 5: "County budget sleight of hand"

"...I have become more aware of how the Guilford County Board of Commission operates,
discovering a good bit about their trickery as well.

...Fox and the BoCs initially proposed a budget that would require a 9.5 cent tax increase.

After one of the largest stealth tax increases in Guilford County history:

"County passes budget, slight tax decrease"

Then came the outcry of the public, along with a few commissioners,
who suddenly saw the light of fiscal conservatism in an election year.

Then came the puzzling announcement
of a $5.6 billion increase in Guilford County property values.

Bottom line: higher taxes for many property owners.

"Commercial Real Estate Prices Just Hit A New Post-Bubble Low"

How about that revaluation tax increase on everybody else, Greensboro and Guilford leaders?

Not long after the revaluation,
a revised budget was revealed that would only require a 4 cent property tax increase.

It seemed that the additional $15 million of revenue from existing property values
and new construction growth would more than make up for the now lower tax increase.

...The late-breaking news is announced that the commissioners
will now proudly present a slight “reduction” in the tax rate.

It would seem that our local economy is now on the mend,
as reflected by the much-improved property and sales tax revenue projections.

And the crowd goes wild!

Or so it would seem.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Guilford County Real Estate Revaluations:

What are the chances, and why did we get a tax decrease

after a projected big shortfall until revals?

First, the increase in property values resulted in a tax increase
to many Guilford County residents without anyone calling it a tax increase.

Also, to make the approved budget numbers work,
sales tax revenue projections needed to be increased by millions over last year
– a guesstimate, at best.

And then there is the revelation that you could have easily missed
if you had been looking “over there.”

The 2012-13 budget that passed on a unanimous vote by the Board of Commissioners
will spend at least $8 million more of our money than last year ($587 versus $579 million).

Could what happened to Charlotte's Real Estate Tax Revaluation

have happened in Guilford County,

which could explain the tax cut instead of a projected increase?

So why are the commissioners so proud of their recent win for Guilford County?

...It should be very concerning to all of us
that the families and hard-working taxpayers of Guilford County
are being told they got a great deal from our commissioners,
as county spending and taxes for many are going up significantly."

Jeff Phillips
Republican Nominee
Guilford County Commissioners, District 5

Sheriff Barnes Gets Porker of the Month from Guilford County Citizens Against Government Waste

HAT TIP Rhino Times

Article titled "Sheriff Gets Harleys Help Counting Cash" CLICKHERE

We would like to give the Guilford County Citizens Against Government Waste Porker of the Month Award to Sheriff Barnes with his total waste of taxpayers money and yes even drug money confiscated is taxpayers money spent wisely but as we see in the article from rhino times below.

" At the May 3 meeting, the board voted unanimously to let Barnes spend the money on the cash counter – and on four Harley-Davidson motorcycles as well. The commissioners didn't ask about the cash counting machine, but they did have questions about the Sheriff's Department's request to buy four new motorcycles.

The agenda item was a request to purchase four 2012 Harley-Davidson police-equipped motorcycles from the lowest bidder, which was Harley-Davidson of Greensboro, for $86,740. The four slick new rides will also be paid for out of the Unauthorized Substance Tax Fund balance.

Barnes said the motorcycles will be used for dignitary visits to the county, funeral escorts, search and rescue operations, escorting group motorcycle and bike rides and patrol operations. "

I am sure there is a better way to spend this money in the Sheriff's Department than to escort dignitaries all over town with their new pretty harley davidson motorcycle's. You can do all of these escorts in patrol cars and spend this money on a need in the department not a want like these motorcycle's are.

North Carolina Election Results

http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/36596/80721/en/summary.html
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CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT (Vote For 1)

95 of 100 Counties Reporting

For 61.05% 1,294,406
Against 38.95% 825,808
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NC STATE SENATE DISTRICT 28 - DEM

Bruce Davis (DEM) 28.03% 6,415

Gladys A. Robinson (DEM) 71.97% 16,475
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PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE - REP

95 of 100 Counties Reporting

Newt Gingrich (REP) 7.65% 73,380
Ron Paul (REP) 11.06% 106,140
Mitt Romney (REP) 65.68% 630,019
Rick Santorum (REP) 10.41% 99,835
No Preference (REP) 5.20% 49,922
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US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 6 - REP

10 of 10 Counties Reporting

Bill Flynn (REP) 22.29% 19,624
Billy Yow (REP) 20.41% 17,969
Howard Coble (REP) 57.31% 50,462
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NC STATE SENATE DISTRICT 27 - REP

1 of 1 Counties Reporting

Sal Leone (REP) 2.06% 505
Trudy Wade (REP) 53.90% 13,243
Latimer B. Alexander IV (REP) 10.04% 2,466
Justin C. Conrad (REP) 34.01% 8,355
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NC HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 59 - REP
1 of 1 Counties Reporting

Jon Hardister (REP) 58.01% 6,726
Sharon Kasica (REP) 30.40% 3,524
Timothy Cook (REP) 11.59% 1,344

Busy Being Born Blogger Tony Wilkins is Running for Guilford County Commissioner District #6

Tony Wilkins pictured on right with Pat Mc Crory

Local blogger Tony Wilkins aka " Busy Being Born" has put his name in the hat to run for the new District #6 Guilford County Commissioners seat.

It has been a pleasure to call Tony Wilkins my friend. To see him step up to the plate and run for the Guilford County Commissioners seat will be a tough primary because this district trends heavily Republican and the primary will more than likely win this commissioners seat. Tony Wilkins is going up against Hank Henning of Jamestown and Jeremy Williams of High Point.

Good luck Tony in running for Guilford County Commissioner, it will be great to see a fellow blogger win this seat  and bring transparency back to the Guilford County Commissioners like you do on the War Memorial Commission in Greensboro.

Billy Yow: "They're chicken-(deleted)...Yow said...that it was cowardly for the board not to hold the discussion and the vote in public."

DOJ Pre Clearence Submission from Guilford County in Regards To The Outdated Voting Rights Act of 1965 , SCRIBD Version Embedded

Guilford County Chairman Skip Alston is Muddying up the Redistricting Process for a Losing Proposition

UPDATE: looks like this post is null and void according to Mark Binker from New and Record with a few post out today
CLICKHERE
CLICKHERE

Guilford County Chairman Skip Alston is trying to muddy up the waters with the talk of referendum and also having a 9 member map turned into the Department of Justice(DOJ) along with the 8 member map at the same time.

In the High Point Enterprise on July 26, 2011 this is what was said:

"County Attorney Mark Payne reminded the committee that commissioners can work on 2 tracks. "If there are two plans we should send them at the same time". "

 Here is the problem. When the state made the law to make Guilford County a 9 member board with 8 districts and 1 at large and that they needed a clearence from DOJ in this bill there was no mention of sending any other plans for them to consider. During the Guilford County Redistricting Committee meetings we have been hearing that Skip Alston wants to also send a 9 member map with 2 at large to the DOJ if the citizens of Guilford County will approve a referendum to by pass what was done and to go back to a 11 member board .

I think this talk of a referendum will come up during the August 4th meeting to have them put the referendum on the November election. There is one huge problem in that the City of High Point has their elections in even years and if Skip Alston wants to put this losing proposition on the ballot in November you will probably see plenty of citizens in High Point and also the unincorporated Guilford County not like this one bit going to the polls to vote on one item. I am sure the DOJ will not like this referendum and a City with over 100,000 will only be going to the polls to vote on this one item. What is the cost for doing this?

If we are talking about referendum then let's talk a 7 board member for Guilford County put that on the ballot as well.

From the quote above it seems like they want to completely mess with the process to also add these other maps to the mix where no one has seen or even talked about a 9  plus 2 member map.County Attorney wants to send them both at the same time but to me it needs to be a complete separate avenues for the DOJ and if they do send them together then you will see some objections from me and plenty of other people in this county.

Here is a link to all the maps that have been turned into the Guilford County Legal Department
CLICKHERE in regards to the redistricting process that will have a public hearing tomorrow at the Guilford County Courthouse starting at 5:30pm

Public Hearing Notice - Thursday, July 28 at 5:30 p.m.

The Redistricting Committee of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners hereby gives notice of a public hearing to receive public comments in its efforts to adopt a redistricting plan pursuant to the requirements of the General Assembly in Session Law 2011-172 as well as N.C.G.S. 153A-22. The public hearing shall be held on July 28, 2011 at 5:30 P.M. in the Commissioners Meeting Room located at the Old County Courthouse, 301 W. Market Street, Greensboro, NC.

Guilford County Redistricting Map Turned in by ME to Hopefully Bring A Simple Map That Makes Sense

Guilford County Commissioners 2011 Redistricting Map for 8 District by Keith Brown


also here is a link to the statistics on the 8 member 1 at large districts CLICKHERE
The Guilford County Commissioners are in the process of redistricting every single voter in this county. At the last redistricting meeting Commissioner Kirk Perkins wanted all maps be turned in by today 7-6-2011 to the redistricting meeting at 3:30pm.But during today's meeting he extended the deadline till Friday 7-8-2011 so if you want to get your map in please hurry. Jordan Green at Yes! Weekly will help you in the process if you want help here is a comment by him on that CLICKHERE

As you will see i your humble blogger turned in a map along with statistics on each of the 8 districts under the new state law in regards to having a 8 district and 1 at large map for Guilford County. To make a long story short without getting into all the statistics details here is a synopsis below.

.Let's start with district #1 which is one of the voting rights act district mandated by federal law. This district stretches from High Point through Jamestown and into Greensboro. I am not a fan of splitting municipalities but in this case Jamestown needed to be split because the minority voters in High Point did not reach the 50 % plus 1 level and needed to pick up some of Commissioner Alston's precincts. It was a tough one to draw but hopefully it is ok.

District #2 is one of the faster growing in population areas of Guilford County which is the eastchester drive area of High Point going all the way west to the county line.

District #3 runs from Oak Ridge and down to Jamestown

District #4 mainly runs in the Greensboro area being one of the 3 voting rights act areas of Guilford County

District #5 is the last voting rights act areas which stretches on the eastern side of Greensboro.

District #6 is a big area in regards space in Guilford County and is one of the growth areas that i see in future on where development is going in eastern Guilford County. One aspect that i see happening on plenty of maps is that the town of Pleasant Garden is split between 2 commissioners but under my map they actually are together as one commissioner. Right now 2 commissioners reside in this area but in my making this map i didn't take into consideration where the incumbents live because it should not be a part of the process.  This process of redistricting every 10 years should not be a incumbency protection act in regards to a map.

District #7 is where there is a lot of growth and the representation of Summerfield and Stokesdale along with some northern guilford county residents needed to have representation and i think having this district as you see on the map is good and feasible.

District #8 is made up of a  Greensboro district .

Hopefully you like this map and can say to the Guilford County Commissioners that Keith Brown's map is good and i like it.

If you would like to send a suggestion to the Guilford County Attorney in regards to this please let Mark Payne know you like this map. Here is his e mail,  mpayne@co.guilford.nc.us

or

Public Submission for Proposed Maps Redrawing Commissioners' Districts Being Accepted

CLICKHERE

UPDATE MORE FROM JORDAN GREEN CLICKHERE

Guilford County Chairman Skip Alston's Gerrymandered Bottlenecks on Redistricting Embedded Pictures

Guilford County Chairman Skip Alston's Gerrymandered Bottlenecks on Redistricting

The above embedded pictures will show you the exact areas that the Chairman Skip Alston is playing this gerrymandering game with the voters in Guilford County in his jig saw puzzle version of a map. Below is the circled red dot areas for these aerial views above.

Chairman Skip Alston Redistricting Map on Precinct Overlay 2011

Then below you will see my map for Guilford County and look at the difference.
Guilford County Commissioners 2011 Redistricting Map for 8 District by Keith Brown

to see all the map and also spreadsheets on the statistics CLICKHERE

High Point Enterprise on Guilford County Commissioners Redistricting

Guilford County Commissioners 2011 Redistricting Map for 8 District by Keith Brown

High Point Enterprise has a article titled "County Officials Unveil District Maps", CLICKHERE

High Point is part of what Keith Brown, who contributed a map for Triad Watch, calls a fish-hook” strategy making a district that links to Greensboro to form a minority-majority district.

“The Alston plan creates a district that runs from High Point through Jamestown and into Greensboro,” Brown said. “We don’t like that.”

Brown’s plan, and the two other county maps, also take the same district path, but Brown claims his treatment is not as severe.
Read more: High Point Enterprise - County officials unveil district maps


Let me explain a little bit further with this scenario. We have a district that needs to be majority minority because of the voting rights act. In High Point you can only get 44% majority minority and need to be over the 50% plus 1 this means that this district that was in High Point needs to add more people. So the feasible way to go is east to get precincts through Jamestown and into Greensboro.

Doing this from High Point into Greensboro opens the door for the map makers to go under this majority minority district to make a fish hook looking area where some of the southern part of High Point remain in another area for the "High Point Hook" as i call it to happen.

As you see in the map that I turned into the Guilford County Commissioners you do not see me allow this High Point Hook. But if you see plenty of the other maps CLICKHERE it does especially the chairman Skip Alston plan.

Say no to the High Point Hook around the voting rights act majority minority district in High Point

Proposed Final Redistricting Plans for Guilford County Commissioners Sent by the Legal Department

Guilford County Final Proposed Redistricting Plans

the above scribd file is the final proposed redistricting maps sent to the Guilford County Commissioners in regards to the 2011 redistricting process. If you would like to see the link of the Guilford County web site CLICKHERE

Guilford County Chairman Skip Alston's Jig Saw Gerrymandered Redistricting Map That Should Be Dead on Arrival

EXHIBIT A

Chairman Skip Alston Proposed Redistricting Map 2011


EXHIBIT B

Chairman Skip Alston Redistricting Map on Precinct Overlay 2011

Above in Exhibit A is the "mystery map" that was turned in to the Guilford County Legal Department from the Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston.

A 7-9-2011 Greensboro News and Record above the fold headline story titled "Maps Drawn on Party Lines" CLICKHERE . An interesting excerpt:

"Alston said two of the maps he submitted were put together by county staff under his direction. The third, he said, he put together with a group of “political advisers” he declined to name.

“They’re not big players, just some people who know the area and the issues whose opinions I trust,” Alston said. “They’re just an informal advisory committee.”

The Chairman directed the creation of all 3 maps

These mystery people know the area and if you want to see what a GERRYMANDERED JIG SAW REDISTRICTING MAP THAT SHOULD BE DEAD ON ARRIVAL looks like,
take a look at Exhibit A.

Exhibit B is what Alston's map looks like when you add the precincts to the map.

Check out the 6 red circled areas on Exhibit B. This is what a blatantly gerrymandered map looks like where they have to wrap around, barely sliver through to get the desired results.

Looking at the numbered districts in Exhibit A, let's start out by talking about district # 5 where we have the most ridiculous gerrymandered aspect of the whole map.  This district stretches from the most eastern part of Guilford County in the town of Whitsett all the way south and barely underneath High Point precinct 23 to split the City of High Point in half and gerrymander all the way up Eastchester Drive to the intersection of Wendover Avenue. The map in exhibit B shows the 2 red circles where the small sliver of this map draws these citizens into District 5.  They split the Town of Pleasant Garden in half, which if you want to keep communities in a whole district to not disenfranchise, then why split the city in half?

Also in the Skip Alston and his mystery people map is District #2, which stretches all the way up to the Town of Oak Ridge, but as you can see from the map the Town of Oak Ridge is split in half between OR 1 and OR 2 , so now we have 2 smaller municipalities split between commissioners which should be done as little as possible or not done at all. NOTE ( My map that i submitted to the Guilford County Commissioners CLICKHERE is compact and only splits up Jamestown because of the Voting Rights Act to bring the High Point precincts over to have some of the Greensboro majority-minority areas to make them compact and feasible). On my maps Jamestown is split 3 ways which put one Jamestown area with the Adams Farm area while the Jam 5 is put in the southern and southeast district area.

Back to the map  of Chairman Alston's district #2 where we have now a district that should be mainly High Point but goes right to pick up precincts in Greensboro which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.  So now we could have a situation in High Point where feasibly not one representative could be from the city because #5, #1, and #2 all take in other areas of Guilford County. Wouldn't that be nice to have a City in the top ten in population for North Carolina not have any representative from it's city in county government?

Let's take a closer look at Exhibit A to show you the absurdity of this map. District #5 wraps around #1 to sliver up to split with #2. Then #8 darts north through Greensboro to wrap around #7 and then back up off of battleground to #4 . #3 with just a little area that starts in Greensboro off of Jefferson road that then squeezes down on battleground avenue to a very small area, only to jump into the Stokesdale and Summerfield area of the county and splits Oak Ridge N.C. in half.  Then we have #2 which starts on western side of Guilford County up towards Oak Ridge with the split of Oak Ridge with #2, then east into Greensboro, which makes not one bit of sense.
As you can see from the so called "mystery map" from Skip Alston, with the help from political advisers who want to keep the same non-competitive gerrymandered maps for the next 10 years , this map should be dead on arrival. So in Chairman Alston's own words this map should be "DOA to the DOJ."

It is time for all citizens to speak up about this issue. After seeing this map turned in from the chairman, it is time to fight back for having sensible compact districts in Guilford County, not the absurd complete gerrymandered crap that Skip Alston has thrust upon us.
If you want to see all the maps that have been turned into the Guilford County Legal Department, you will not be able to see them on the Guilford County web site. 

They are still not up.

But you can CLICKHERE for the local GOP maps.

GOP MAP 1
GOP MAP 2
GOP MAP 3
Keith Brown Map
Skip Alston Map
Staff Friendly Map
Staff Market Map

The time is now to let your Guilford County Commissioners know how you feel, and it is also time to let your local municipalities know how you feel about this map, or any of these maps, because it will effect us for the next 10 years or more. Get involved.

Here is a link to the Guilford County web site to let them know how you feel, CLICKHERE

Guilford County Redistricting Meeting Tomorrow and Linkfest at Guarino's Blog

Guilford GOP redistricting plan

HT: Jordan Green for map above from scribd account on Guilford County GOP redistricting map
Just a friendly reminder that on Wednesday 6-29-2011 at 3:30pm in the blue room at the old guilford county courthouse the second installment of the Redistricting for Guilford County meeting will take place.

As you can see in the top left corner of this blog there is a countdown clock for the number of days that the Guilford County Commissioners have to present the map for a 9 member board of commissioners with a 8 district and 1 at large make up. The countdown clock has 48 days left before they need to turn the map into the Department of Justice for approval.

We also have a new category over at Guarino's blog titled "Redistricting Guilford" CLICKHERE which has plenty of post on this subject .