Secretary of State Brian Kemp continues doing a great job providing information to voters. If you need a sample ballot before heading out to the polls stop in on the website of the sos.ga.gov and get your own sample ballot. It very easy. Just fill in a little information, click and scroll. You’ll see a link to your very own sample ballot.
Mean time here is mine:
If you need additional help there are folks who can assist you. Here is where you can early vote.
UP DATE
At today’s meeting the BOC voted on a budget of $115.5 million. That gives a $10 million+ hole. There was only one vote against rasing the budget to this level. Commissioner Brian Preston of District 2 voted against increasing the budget to such lofty levels and proposed $110 million budget.
Funny part was when Democrat Commissioner Bruce Holmes voted against the increase of the budget. Once Holmes found out it was raising the budget to cover furloughs and pads it for other increases he wanted, Holmes changed his vote to approval. He liked spending more money as did the other three Republicans that voted for passage.
What we are seeing is the Obamazation of Henry County via “Republicans.” This action will most likely include a tax rate hike. However as Commissioners Warren Holder and Reid Bowman pointed out the tax payers won’t know that until after the July elections because they don’t set the rate until August. This is known as pulling a Pelosi because “ we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
At yesterday’s Henry County, GA budget meeting they touched on many topics, from no furlough days, to raises, to benefits, to supplemental pay. County Manager Fred Auletta laid out the budget in detail. Auletta placed in front of the board what each member had asked about, he covered what the review panel had asked questions on. Auletta created a menu of options for the board to consider.
The raw number for the budget as a starting point is $115.5 million. As you add bells and whistles on top of the baseline the budget grows and the hole deepens.
If the commissioners want no furlough days tack on $1.13 million. Each day is worth $281,685 dollars. If you take the pay increase for public safety as part of your likings then add $2.35 million. If you feel you cannot justify giving public safety a pay raise without giving other employees a raise then tack on another $425,000.
Just recall the $115.5 million dollar budget has a giant hole of $10.1 million to begin with so as each commissioner decides what needs to be added they dig the hole deeper.
Commissioner Brain Preston seemed to be the only commissioner engaged in the process of figuring out some way to not put the entire burden of the 30% tax rate increase on the backs of the property owners. Preston urged a sensible approach where the county, the tax payer, and the employees all shared in the pain of the down trend in the economy.
All the board members agreed to Preston’s idea of taking money from the county savings. That part was easy, even Democrat Commissioner Bruce Holmes who seemed to be bored to tears agreed. Holmes stated he would support moving money from the savings and raising taxes for no furloughs, not pay cuts, raises and no benefits cuts – spoken like a true tax and spend Democrat.
What other commissioners had a problem with was modernizing the benefits for the county. That is code for taking the Bugatti Veyron plans to Enzo Ferrari plans.
Henry has some of the best benefits in the state paid to our county employees. The health insurance is a prime example. Up until this new budget an employee could have their entire family covered 100%, no deductibles, no copayments for $318. The county picked up the other $996 of cost. The monthly cost on that plan was just under $100,000 a month for 189 employees. With insurance premiums going up again for the county this option will not be offered.
The new plan shows an 85%/15% with a $500 family deductible at a cost to employee of $140 and the county will pay the remaining $996. There are other options.
Preston showed that by modernizing the health benefit plan and still being one of the best in the metro area the county could save $1.375 million. This would be done through a combination of increasing the employee rate of contribution, adding tobacco-user surcharges in line with other counties, and spousal surcharge equal to other counties.
It was interesting to see the reaction of Reid Bowman and Warren Holder on the topic of surcharges. Bowman made the statement about charging why single out tobacco users only, why not overweight employees too? He also said the county should pay employees if they do not use the health insurance if we penalize those spouse that do. Preston did point out the fact the spousal surcharge would be for those who have insurance at other employment that do not use it because the county has such great benefits. It is a common practice.
The retirement benefit is also one the best in the area. It was glazed over quickly with Auletta stating the plan started off with a $20 million dollar hole that has to be funded. The plan has had some losses and they have been using higher rates of returns in the calculations, 7.5% that most believe to be unattainable on the longer term for such a plan.
Today an article entitled States Scaling Back Worker Pensions to Save Money states:
“What we’re doing today is not sustainable. Part of the reason we’re in this hole is for too many years, politicians made promises without paying for those promises,” Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana.
Louisiana is looking to change their benefits:
“Jindal wants to raise the contribution rate for current state workers and public college employees from 8 percent to 11 percent of their pay. He also wants to push the retirement age from as early as 55 for current workers to as late as age 67, depending on how many years they’ve been in the system and their age. He’s seeking to create a cheaper 401(k)-style of pension plan for new hires.”
Dare say our politicians have done the same but instead of looking at options to fix the giant hole they will ignore it because of lack of will. These options that Louisiana and other states have to make are the exact same ones Henry needs to make. We just need the commissioners to man up and take care of the problem instead of strapping on a Band-Aid. Revamping the retirement plan could save a million or more a year on the budget.
Preston was the only one willing to discuss the benefits and making changes and was shunned.
Here’s the menu again, raise rates 2.5 mils to cover the hole. Add all the bells and whistles and it goes to 3.47 mil addition. Four of the five sitting commissioners stated they were not for the full 30% tax increase. They all stated they were for pulling money out of the bank equal to a mil (estimated value of $4 million.) That makes the $10 million hole $6 million however now we add on the bells and whistles to the baseline. If they go all in damn the torpedoes then it’s a 2.47 mil increase. If they act like Republicans and run the government like a business (how many times have we heard that?) then we see reductions using Preston’s three prong approach and cut from $6 million to $4.74 million before they touch the Bugatti Veyron retirement plan.
That $4.74 million can be covered with a little more than a 1 mil increase. When we take into consideration the hospital 1 mil is going away this year then the net is a very minor increase to tax payers. We’ll see what the commissioners do today.
Preston showed how to reduce the budget hole where all feel some pain. No one gets laid off. The burden is not shifted all to the tax payers and the county keeps its services intact. Henry County could benefit in keeping Preston on the BOC. District 2 of Henry County should come out in force and support his re-election efforts. The only other announced candidate is talking about nothing but raising taxes and spending more money the county does not have. They have not shown any thought to fiscal responsibility and sounds more like the Democrat in the 5th.
I am not too happy with the Henry County Board of Commissioners poor choice of public meeting pertaining to the Monday April 30, 2012 County Budget. It’s 5:00 pm and the agenda just appears a few minutes earlier.
It is an embarrassment toward open and transparent government.
The budget has $333,969.00 in it for Public relations which centers mainly on the TV channel 14 and the internet access. Operational cost for that department is about 10% or $34,059 with the remainder of expense going to salaries and benefits. The 6 full time employees make an average of $49,985 in earnings, retirement and health benefits. Yet this department must be going on holiday Monday afternoon.
See The BOC is having its regular 9 am meeting then going on a tour of the new Emergency Communications Management 911 facility after the regular portion of the agenda. They will reconvene in Room B later that day to address the budget issues.
One of the most important pieces of government for the county will be done in public room B away from the cameras. This great weather we are having makes all of want to go to the beach and I guess those PR folks that run the TV station are heading out.
I almost missed the fact the budget was even going to be discussed on Monday when I first looked at the agenda. It is placed at the very bottom.
I called over to the Administration Building and talked with Shay Mathis about the item being moved to the room with no cameras so I could find out what time the public should arrive to listen about the budget. I was told to show up once they recess for the tour because she did not know how long that would be.
So here’s the deal, to see and hear the proposed budget and the commissioner’s points of view on what needs to be done get there at 9 am. Bring a lunch and few snacks – it’ll be a long day. At least the Henry County PR team will be on holiday having fun.
“After reading the actual legislation and watching the politicians debate the bill, I must say that I am stunned that, a year after the formation of the Tea Party that advocates lower taxes and limited government, these Republicans supported a bill that, not only raises taxes, but grows government by creating this regional commission of unelected bureaucrats.” - Joanie Scott, Proof Right
Some just cannot say it. They still give a pass to the only person in Henry County that voted for demanding the County to participate in the upcoming TSPLOST vote that is still elected.
Let me help them out:
The only Republican from Henry County, GA to cast a vote placing TSPLOST on the ballot making the county participate and is still elected as a Representative is Steve Davis.
Davis voted for this potential tax increase. Davis voted for the possibility to grow government. It was Davis that gave the capacity to create a commission of unelected bureaucrats.
An interesting observation about Davis is he voted against the almost identical bill in 2008. In 2010 he flip-flopped and voted for the TIA. The following year Representative Davis turned into Chairman Davis. Could be just coincidence.
Click for Better View
If you are going to vote against TSPLOST then one has to place the blame at the feet of those who put us in the mix, Steve Davis. Since Davis’ crony bloggers won’t name him thought this might help.
I am supporting Dale Rutledge in his efforts to unseat Davis, www.votedale.com.
In case you missed it, a certain someone who represents the 109th district was in the paper again this weekend.
From the AJC:
“It was a three-way tie in the singles bracket with Reps. Darlene Taylor, R-Thomasville; Quincy Murphy, D-Augusta; and Steve Davis, R-McDonough, each racking up a $245 tab at a Feb. 2 House Insurance Committee dinner. A lobbyist for insurance giant Humana paid the bill.“
That $245 dinner could feed a family of four for almost 2 weeks. Davis is out of touch with his constituents. As a conservative voter I don’t want Davis out carousing at high dollar events on the lobbyist dime getting to friendly with what might effect my insurance rates.
The rep from the 109th seems to be in the paper when they are writing about questionable acts more often than not. Davis makes it in these articles almost effortlessly.
I’ll be glad when Davis gets a primary contender.
The old adage Like Father Like Son or Chip off the ole block we hear often. We all know it means the traits of the father are in the son.
Steve Davis who currently occupies the 109th District in the lower house of the gold dome has had a few hick-ups over the years which made the Atlanta papers.
Feb. 29, 2012 — Rep. Steve Davis has agreed to pay a $300 fine for failing to include two businesses on his state-mandated financial disclosure.
Davis, a real estate broker from McDonough, filed disclosures for 2009 and 2010 listing himself as CEO of Cape Real Estate Sales and Trading LLC, but did not mention that he held the same position in two other companies, officials said Tuesday. ” Read on
Last year Davis was in the paper for similar items:
“A you recall Davis was in the news at the beginning of this year with the fact he owed the second largest amount of fines to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. It’s believed Davis cleared those up finally”
RS "Chip" Davis
Now we see his son Ryan Davis (who ran as R. S. Davis) on the Henry County Board of Education has taken on the trait of his father. According to theGeorgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission a fine was issued for 6/30/11 and 12/31/11 of $125.00 each time for a total of $250.00 for not filing paper work. Oh that paper work is known as campaign disclosures. There could be a problem with the filing system, or maybe it was sent snail mail, or maybe those people down there just make mistakes all the time when it comes to the Davis political process.
Steve Davis cleared up the matter on some, paid fines on the other (?) but the follies seem to follow him and now his son. A couple of weeks ago it was Schoolboard Apprecitaion Week. It would be appreciated if board member Davis would pay his fines and file his paper work.
Henry County, GA is about get it right. There had been rumors of it and now that it is out there you should take time to learn about it and know that it’s about time we had this come about.
This plan could actually work and work very well.
On April 2 and 3, 2012 the county will discuss and hopefully endorse the project of Redevelopment and Opportunity Zones. Since the law was established 79 zones have been created in Georgia. Don’t misunderstand, this is not windfall of opportunity for Henry but it puts another wonderful tool in our quiver as part of an overall strategy for economic development.
A case has been made that Hampton and the immediate surrounding area is stricken with high poverty levels, thus the need for the redevelopment plan and enacting the plan of action. Hampton has a 19.7% current poverty level. It does make good sense to increase not just job opportunities in the area but actual careers. To view of the county proposed area click here.
The benefit of having Opportunity Zones is:
BJ Mathis, Michael Harris, the Development Authority, and others are doing something that will help Henry. The strategy will no doubt include the airport and finding ways to increase the value to the community. Enterprise zones, opportunity zones and other incentives could attract the type of industry the county needs.
Around the airport we could have industry supporting the airline sector. The automotive industry is abuzz with nearby plants in the southeast. Why not attract industry that makes parts for the automobiles near the race track.
There are numerous possibilities. What Henry needs now is the Development Authority revamped with people who are willing to look around and see what trends are out there and get ahead of them. An interesting idea would be to meld the Chamber of Commerce and the Development Authority into one entity.
Henry has many possibilities due to location and the large tracts of land, the access to water and a large educated population. It takes more than planning; it takes accountability and drive from the top of government all the way through those in the community. This is pleasing but it is the first step.
Henry needs to make sure we put forth the right person to lead in the way of commissioners. The election coming up in July will give us a chance to make a selection on three sitting commissioners and the chair. My votes will go to only those who have an economic plan and can convince me they will be accountable in actions. So far only one or two have touched on this subject.
More information:
Department of Community Affairs
Department of Community Affairs Map
