We got painted a pretty well rehearsed painting of how all these, expansions into residential neighborhoods will benefit the county. The taxpayers are the county. Fiber Optics will have to be upgraded to keep in step with growing technology, Upgrades that will require a new and continual budget for the department that will oversee it. I wonder did B.J. Mathis not listen or did she choose to ignore public comment from Deanna Jones, the representative from Charter Cable who spoke during public comment.
Where will the revenue come from for this budget? TAX PAYERS OR MORE BORROWED MONEY FROM STIMULUS. The tax payers now, their children, Grandchildren and their children to infinite, stimulus money is not free money!
A venture of this magnitude that will be affecting every citizen and their families for years to come should be required to be brought up for a special vote to the taxpayers. This should not be a decision made by 5 elected officials.
It is fine for someone to smile give a speech and tell you to look at the world as if it were a dream. Sorry but most of us all live in the real world of reality.
The county bought 61 forecloser homes, 6 sold. Woo Hoo! bring out the band!, unemployment rate is 10.3 for Henry county and 10.2 in Georgia, now that is reality.
The commissioners of this county need to listen to the citizens and allow a county wide vote on fiber optics
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6 comments:
Let’s Build a Door
On January 13, 2010, Chairperson Elizabeth “BJ” Mathis gave us the State of the County Address in it’s taped format. She spoke giving a pep talk to the county that everything would be alright in the days to come. She named off figures and numbers that the county has borrowed and will need to pay back down the road. And yes we the taxpayer will be the one’s to pay for the numbers. She gave a good lesson in counter-talk and overplaying one’s hand.
The whole message led up to the fiber optics initiative that she has strongly been in force behind to get it done. She has spoke about the good it will do, and the place where the money will be coming from to build such an entity. The only thing she has not placed on the table is the cost to maintain such a venture. There will have to be a separate budget and the taxpayer money will fund it. The citizens should be given a chance to vote on such a high priced program that will not affect everyone who will be paying for it.
Ms. Mathis did mention that land had been acquired for a technical/vocational school here in the county. This is a good program that will help many people who will not be attending college and those who must change their jobs. This is the one program that most people will be in agreement with.
Ms. Mathis mentioned acquiring the five acres of land next to the jail that used to be the RV center. She said that she had received $175,000 from Washington to help expand the 911 and emergency center. She failed to mention the cost of the land at $1.15 million.
This clearly offsets any money from Washington.
The county unemployment is at 10.3% being .1% higher than the State of Georgia. Thus giving a great hardship to those involved. Ms. Mathis could give no clear answer as to how to help these families. Here again this is one of the greatest problems to hit this county in decades and our leadership is depending too much on outside aid that will have to be paid back with interest by you and me.
What we need is more clear understanding between those in the government including Ms. Mathis with those in the community who are living in the real world. Many of the citizens of Henry County are on Social Security and there will be no cost of living raise for them this year and possibly next year. Five or ten dollars means a lot to a person who does not have it buy medicine or see a doctor. There is a solid sector of the county that is aging and many are already disabled and that leads to further hardships that have not been addressed.
With closing, this speech was clearly a pep talk to the citizens of the county. She wants a door to be built so someone may knock upon it. Maybe one day she and those she shares her seat with will understand that people will not knock on your door knowing that nothing is behind it. Thank you for listening.
The Doctor
From a Citizen Newsletter reader:
This broadband project doesn't look like a good idea for our county. My neighbors and i talked about this and it prompted me to look into this. They told me about your articles so I think you should look at this too. I was disappointed to hear they were going to vote to last week. There haven't been any public hearings from what i can tell. I hope you can write an article for you readers on this. The consultant looks like the same person who consulted on the failed projects in Acworth, Tifton, and Marietta? I can't tell if Fairburn is, but why would we listen to him? It seems like he overestates the numbers.
United Telesystems: http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?873324
Rural Broadband: http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?1553076
Some other things I am looking into about this project. I read somewhere, but I can't find it now that the construction company on the projects is related. When I find it I will send it. Here are some of the other articles I found:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NVN/is_20_23/ai_102654329/.
http://www.tiftongazette.com/local/local_story_047221441.html
http://www.tiftongazette.com/local/local_story_014223629.html
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-07-29-marietta-no-isp_x.htm
To The Citizen from Deyanna Jones:
Local government entities around the country have a hard time competing with private dollars in this industry, I do not want to see another City of Tifton in Henry County. Tifton got excited about some projections made their consultant, it is a pretty interesting story. They ended up losing of $5.8 million.
To request a copy of Dave_McClure_The_Case_AGainst_Public_Broadband.pdf (206KB), send email to hc.citizen@hccitizen.org. The opening paragraphs are below:
Municipal networking is the latest confidence game to hit the street. A real razzle-dazzle, fast-talking, high-tech, keep-your-eye-on-the-peanut kind of pyramid scheme that keeps the intended marks – consumers and taxpayers – so mesmerized by the prospect of getting something for nothing that they don’t see their wallets being lifted until it is too late.
When the game is done, municipal governments will have seized control of the Internet, telephone and cable systems for their communities; driven out competition by private companies; balkanized
a communications infrastructure that once was the envy of the world; and secured for themselves a continuing stream of revenue with unlimited potential for rate increases.
My View of the State of the County Address Jan 2010
Well again this year under the rule of the Queen Bee we the ordinary taxpaying citizens get to see the taped version instead of what was said at the event for the power players of Henry County. I guess the lonely taxpayer is too common to see the big event at Eagles Landing Country Club for the Snobs of the County, that’s right I said it.
B.J. Mathis starts out by saying that 2009 was a challenging year but it brought new ideas on how to bring in more money for the County. When you have a full staff, it is not that hard to find new ways to rip off the taxpayers of the County.
She stated that revenue is down all fees are down and the SPLOST are down by about 12%. She said that some projects had to be put on hold until the money becomes available. Is this why the Veterans Wall of Honor is in the shape it’s in and Nash Farm is getting things done? Whatever happened to priority first, Veterans come over a lie for Mathis to play dress up at ( Nash Farm).
Then it started getting deep. She was very happy about the award winning financial report that sited honesty, openness, and fiscal integrity. What is she thinking with? There has been so much lying, backroom deals and temper tantrums going on mainly by her to get what she wants so she can pay back friends that helped her get into office it would make for a great movie of the week.
She even talked about the five acres of land the County just bought that was the RV center. It struck me as funny that she said it was a SPLOST 3 purchase that we voted on in 2008. My question is how did the County know that the RV center would be going out of business back then, or did the County help them go out of business, something to think about.
One of the things I agreed on was the remodel of the old police station to turn it into the new elections office it was needed very badly. However my concern is that we used Spalding County inmates to do the work so we could save money. What is wrong with our own County inmates it seems it would be even cheaper to use ours.
The County has secured Millions of dollars from grants and stimulus funds for projects that would have been put on hold until the money was found. What ever happen to saving money up until you have the money to do what you want to do with it? This County has gotten about $50 Million in stimulus funds and grants that will have to be paid back by you and I the taxpayers of Henry County. And with the County joining all the other Counties across the Country grabbing this money left and right, they are helping the downfall of this Country economically.
The program to buy foreclosed homes and fix them up and sale them is working according to Mathis. The County has bought 61 homes and has sold 6. That’s right people 6, that’s .10% success rate. If that’s Mathis’s idea of a working project than she is more mentally challenged than I thought and has no business running the County and needs to step down.
Part Two
We got $ 226,380 in federal earmarks to make the exit 218 at I75 the gateway to the speedway. This is a total waste of money on something that was started by bootleggers and promotes drinking and then get in your car and drive home if you don’t wreck and kill your self or someone else.
She pleaded to the citizens of the County to make sure and fill out the 2010 census form so they would get an accurate count. Because if the County can show a certain number of citizens live in the County than they could get more grants and federal money to better the County. I say the way the County has abused the taxpayers of the County, they don’t deserve no more money until they learn what it means to serve the citizens first and not them selves. I will refuse to fill it out and will ask my friends and family to do the same, this County must learn that it’s we the people with the power and not them!! That’s right folks I am mad, when our Chairman of the Board of Commissioners says its “Easy Money”. It’s not easy money Chairman it’s money people worked hard for and you want it to pad the pockets of your friends and not help the County.
Then Mathis had the audacity to say that most of the jobs holders in Henry County are in the 5 lowest sectors. This is a nice way of telling us that we are below herself and the people in the government. Again Chairman this County was founded on honest hard working people who did not mind getting their hands dirty. That is this County’s history and it will not change no matter how much you try it won’t happen, we are who we are and that’s it. She harped on the quality of life here in Henry County. Those are just buzz words to demean the average citizen in the County. Chairman Mathis again school is back in for you. Your value of quality of life is different than mine and it’s different than any one in the County, we all are different and the sooner you learn that fact the better you will be.
Everything Chairman Mathis said was just a big talk up for getting the fiber optic program she wants to shove down our throats, which will bring the County closer to being big brother to all of us and we will have to pay for the upkeep of the system that will watch over us, now that’s a fine kettle of fish.
If you sit back and study this article about the State of the County Address you will find it is all true. And you will come to the conclusion I have the Current Chairman of the BOC is unfit for the job and needs to step down or get recalled. If not than this County will be in worse shape than we are in now. And it will be our children that will pay the price for our inactions of today and they deserve better than that.
Asa Brown
Hey, I's agree with Mr. Asa. You know he one cool dude. Let's us know from the start what this all about. Now this is the type of reporting we should be getting here. That rag they call the Herald is only good to start a fire and then sometimes it don't work. I like's the work of Mr. Citizen and Mr. Doctor also.
Pete Cook
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