I am trying to figure out who the five are out there in their underwear…hiding behind their computer screens of course.  Damn Corey!  I sputtered my tea all over the screen when he said that.

Actually, this was one of the more informative BOCS meetings.  There is hope for reducing class sizes.  I think they are slowly getting it that they have to increase taxes and that even the 2.5% might not be enough to address all the concerns.

This board has been laboring under the impression that you can just move things around and you will somehow have enough money. It doesn’t work that way.  Only Jenkins and Principi seem to get that part.  Of course, Jenkins and Principi  don’t have their own party trying to tea party them and feed on their remains.  I think that having to dodge the tea party bullet all the time creates the  mentality that forces  people go into denial about dollars and  cents and sense.

Corey is right though.  The lowest taxes and the highest class size and he did point out there is a correlation.  Corey finally admitted it.  Its a red letter day.  I am sure trumpets are sounding over at PWEA.

I am not so sure the Walts plan is right.  Instructional coaches aren’t needed half as much as teachers.  Forget the trailers.  How many teachers would gladly go to a trailer if they had a class size of 20?  Lots.   Walts is big on quoting what “best practice” is without being able to really back up what the hell he is talking about.

I am trying to figure out who lobbed the first grenade, Candland or Stewart.  Maybe it doesn’t even matter.  Candland is obviously campaigning for Stewart’s position.  He accused Stewart several times of wanting to increase taxes.  Nothing that had been said indicated that was Corey’s mission.   I think reality has finally hit him.  Translation:  He isn’t running for another office at the moment.

Corey got the last word with his quip about the bloggers.  All five of them sitting in their underwear.  Psssstttt…Corey….I have on more than just my underwear.  You caused a great howling over here at Howler Acres.  Too funny and you are probably right.

I just bet things are a-buzz now in the blogosphere.

 

27 Thoughts to “Food for the Blogs: It’s a dust up!”

  1. Lafayette

    Pretty funny, that it’s a handful of people sitting in their underwear reading blogs these days. One of those local blogs sure did a lot to help Corey when he NEEDED them back in 2007 and again in 2011. You can’t have it both ways.

  2. Andyh

    I don’t think they’re going to get very far with just a couple million bucks on class size…they’re 80,000 students in PWC schools…

  3. George S. Harris

    Oh Moon! I just have this picture. BTW–am sitting here in my Hanes…;-)

  4. I am truly astounded. Corey finally said it out loud. You simply cannot brag about being the “lowest tax rate” and not understand that trickle down economics of being cheap. You get out what you put in. This county does need investment and we all need to acknowledge that reality.

    Who would have thought I would be quoting Corey in a positive way!

  5. Furthermore, does Pete believe that it has only been a result of PWC policy in the last ten years that we are in this position of overcrowded schools, lack of parks and open space, athletic fields, etc?

    Where has he been? Proffers? Our inadequate proffer system has long been a problem, not just the last decade!

  6. Lafayette

    We have to remember Elena, some on that board are fairly newcomers to the county.

  7. I’ll bet Pete has no idea about the unfulfilled proffers at James Long Park. When Toll Brothers negotiated developing Dominion Valley, part of the proffers included an indoor swimming pool and horse riding arena.

    Were either of those proffers completed? NOPE!

    We have soccer fields galore and no riding arena or swimming pool. The riding arena is now located at Silver Lake via Rainbow Riding. Now the county wants to spend 400 thousand dollars on lighting up James Long Park (located in the Rural Crescent mind you).

    No, this county has a long track record of not following through on promises and proffers. Don’t use Corey as the punching bag Pete, learn your history, it would serve you well in your endeavor to create sustainable change (if indeed that is your goal, and just creating sound bytes for your next election).

    Corey isn’t “frothing at the bit to raise taxes”, that is silly. Trust me, 2.5 % is not exactly high way robbery. Congratulations, I now find myself in the unlikely position of defending Corey.

  8. @Lafayette

    If you keep reinventing yourself, you can

  9. Sean

    Corey was right on most issues…but he has to be ABOVE BOARD on these things. He can not let Pete goat him into being a rude, jerk (encouraging the ovation at the end was over the top and uncalled for). As Chairman, he needs to be above the pettiness…as hard as it may be with Candland constantly pushing his buttons

  10. 2.5% is a drop in the bucket as far as fixing the class size. It wasn’t built overnight and it won’t be fixed overnight. It also re-dates Corey.

    3 million dollars is essentially 30 teachers. 1 teacher pulls 1 kid off of 30 classes. 30 teachers pulls 1 kid off of 900 classes.

    The Republicans on the BOCS have got to get over this idea of out tea-partying one and other. If they don’t, they are going to continue to have huge classes.

  11. @Lafayette

    Its obvious there are lots of newcomers. I agree, Lafayette.

    They don’t know PWC history.

  12. Sean,
    I don’t disagree, but in many ways you see two birds of the same feather. Corey calls Pete a Charlatan, Pete calls Corey a liar, yadda yadda yadda. Best show in town and yet very little of any substantive change is happening.

  13. Mom

    “I now find myself in the unlikely position of defending Corey.”

    Ugghh, that can’t taste good to you.

    That being said, it probably is fair to blame Corey for the direction the County has taken in the past decade. Is it his fault alone, certainly not, but he’s the leader of the club that made this for you and me (Elena you’re old enough for that play on words to strike a chord). That being said, a majority of the current BOCS and some former members bear a proportionate amount of the blame, Dem. and Rep. alike.

    So as not to cast aspersions on the current members, one has only to look at the past two Gainesville Reps. for perfect examples. Wilbourn helped set the stage for our current development policies and realities and Stirrup played along with Corey’s reindeer games. If you want to point the finger of blame at someone for the facilities at Long Park and the situation at Silver Lake, you have to look no further than Stirrup whose behind the scenes deals and manipulated face saving measures allowed those circumstances to come to fruition and provide cover for all Supervisors involved.

    The only difference between now and then is that some of the process has been removed from the smoke-filled room and put on public display so that all may revel in the BOCS mud wrestling match.

  14. Mom,
    Yes, it was quite unpleasant tasting 😉

    But lest we forget, Corey started his “change” back in 2007, it began with Parks and Open Space and then bled into the Silver Lake debacle, and then Avendale the following year. He simply took over where Sean C had left. I think there is a voodoo curse on the Chairmanship. I hear the same turn of character happened with Kathleen Seefelt, although I wasn’t here then.

    I am not suggesting that Corey is not culpable for the hole we continue to find ourselves in regarding all the infrastructure needs this county faces. I am simply reminding people, like Pete, there is a long standing pattern here in PWC, for decades actually. Furthermore, suggesting we can continue to live on the cheap is simply tea party mantra that I have just about had enough of.

    I find it interesting that when we cut items from our budget and the money reappears later as surplus, we don’t have a long running tab on what programs were cut than can be reinstituted.

    I find it interesting that during the rural preservation study you see a county giving consultants bogus numbers of land the county as preserved when in actuality they have done very little.

    There is so much this county should do to make us the model of 21st century planning and investment for the future and it isn’t happening. Instead, politicians, like Pete, and Corey for that matter, are more interested in easy sound bytes then real comprehensive change.

  15. Censored bybvbl

    Ha ha! I’ll bring a bottle of champagne to this whine/slug fest. Such entertainment…two of PWC’s biggest wannabes, two peas-in-a-pod, duking it out for the limelight and who can be more “conservative”, “family friendly”, “developer-money grabbing”, whatever issue will give them a leg up. Corey has looked in the mirror and Candland stares back. Ha ha.

  16. I am mighty tired of the snipping Pete does at county staff. It is unnecessary and ugly.

  17. Lyssa

    I would say infrastructure issues began to occur before Stewart. Unfortunately, he was elected and reelected with both eyes on higher goals so addressing them was not a priority. I don’t think he planned to be here this long. Infrastructure fixes are not one time and require ongoing funding. Stewart said it yesterday, budgets have been bare bones – many don’t believe it and think they have the answers. The truth is (yes, Mom I will defend local govt staff but I’ve never been a status quo kind of person – more RFK “why not”) there are many smart, analytical and talented employees who have tried to hold the wheel steady through this nonsense and smile politely to the elected official(s).

    I’ve talked with many there in PWC who seem to think taking on roads/transportation while agencies and maybe schools headed toward disintegration was an error. As with immigration roads are state and federal responsibilities. The ROI on using local tax dollars for federal /state problems like immigration and roads is negligible compared to the negative impact of programs that have been underfunded for more than a decade. Local tax dollars go to local programs.

    Failing infrastructure takes time to be visible and easily understood, preventing it is thankless. Unfortunately, resolving it will takes longer than the time it took for armchair quarterback bloggers to get it and pounce on officials. (I would certainly credit this blog for continuously making that argument on behalf of PWC citizens.

    Being accountable to citizens is a role of government – being beaten up constantly by citizens is something public servants get used to. But at some point citizens have to recognize that their public servants might be their best resource for information and not some elected official that sweeps in with other ambitions or a know it all with bad advisors or wannabe officials.

    The first thing I’d do as Queen of the Board in Prince William would be street lights in Sudley. THAT’S exactly why we pay taxes. I can’t think of a better example of where tax dollars should go. Well, there is leaf pickup but PWC will NEVER see that as a service.

    1. Thank you for spelling it all out, Lyssa.
      We will continue to defend staff who should never be victims of the politics. There is some good staff and some bad staff. Let their bosses sort it out. Most people are decent.
      I have been in this county a long time. I am not going to say “I am a taxpayer.” Everyone who lives here is a tax payer. BFD. I have seen a lot over the years. You are exactly right. The going on the cheap didn’t start with Corey Stewart. Not even close. Much of it is symptomatic of a county that is a bedroom community without a good ratio of industry to absorb some of the costs. Residents needs schools, libraries, sports fields, and feel they are entitled to them.

      Most people’s tax bills don’t begin to support the services they use. One kid in school eats up $10k.

      I am sick of the nastiness I hear and read about the county. Mimicking, ridiculing and complete fugue from the truth seems to be the order of the day. That’s why I rarely comment on local comings and goings any more. Only one person can control the current nastiness. He apparently has chosen not to. Therefore, he will not get my vote.

  18. Mom

    @Lyssa
    Sheesh, it appears I largely agree with you for the second time in a month, need to check my diet or lay off the lite beer.

    You’re correct, the infrastructure issues began long before Corey and even before Sean and his road building quest. I’m glad to see somebody else in the county understands the long-term fiscal impact of “one-time” infrastructure expenditures but I would suggest that some of the blogs that are occasionally excoriated her have been sending that message for quite some time, perhaps none too politely but sent nonetheless.

    The current crisis is a function of pandering to the direction of the wind on any particular day and foregoing the long range impacts of budget and policy decisions. That senior staff allows this to happen on an ongoing basis is but one of the failings of the County’s government. Although I would agree that the county has many “smart, analytical and talented employees who have tried to hold the wheel steady through this nonsense and smile politely to the elected official(s)” I would hasten to add that they also smile politely to the CXO and some senior staff who are driving the county car into the ditch in order to placate those same elected officials. Chris Martino is a prime example of the former and like it or not, Peacor a prime example of the latter. Take yesterday’s meeting for example, when the discussion about the Recordation taxes, existing transportation expenditures and the NVTA revenue stream was occurring it should have been incumbent on somebody from the staff side to connect the dots for all of the Supervisors with regard to those matters. Similarly, it should incumbent on somebody during the last legislative session to explain the impact of the provisions of the tax bill on County transportation revenues and spending policies and ask that the bill either be amended to avoid the potential penalties or oppose it outright. Instead the County sent our lobbyists (in-house and on-retainer) to either ignore the issues or quietly lobby in favor of them.

    I can’t wait for the day when the BOCS understands that they can no longer afford the limited ROI (apart from political gain) that use of local tax dollars for federal /state problems like roads and subsequently squeals when they realize that diminishing the level of fiscal support for those programs jeopardizes their share of the NVTA tax disbursement.

    Lastly, I agree that “being beaten up constantly by citizens is something public servants get used to”, I would suggest however that in many circumstances it is fully deserved.

  19. Lyssa

    @Mom

    You could have said “…suggest that in SOME circumstances it is fully deserved.” One little word huge difference. And as a public servant my perception would have shifted. I spent 15 years in private industry before downsizing to local government the last six at a fairly senior level. Just as many slackers there…..

  20. Lyssa

    Regarding Peacor, she has had to do what Stewart told her to do. I’m sure you can see that listening to others is not a skill. Why he was elected over and over again I can only assume it was his party affiliation. So much for that.

    I watched the tapes from yesterday and it appears she has made a breakthrough with him. I sort of imagine him barking direction to feed his no tax no immigrant vision of himself so he can move up the political ladder. I don’t think he was so open to her suggestions. Like many CEO’s I would guess she has people to lay it out while she continues to agree with him.

    Like Stewart she he also inherited a bit of a mess from Gerhart. It’s only been three years? And with Stewart as a boss……????

    No accusation here but I do think the fact that she’s a female, somewhat excitable and most that know her acknowledge she’s extremely smart – all works against her. If she were male excitable would = brash and it would be more acceptable for him to be smarter than most. In my 34 years of employment and never had a job as a secretary/admin I have seen how many men react to smart women.

  21. Mom

    @Lyssa
    Sorry, some is probably a better word but my decades of experience in dealing with the Feds leaves me with little use for GS-15s, the SES and their equivalent at the local level, its generally the Peter Principle at its worst.

    As to Peacor, its not a male/female thing, at least not with me. I suspect Moon and Elena would agree that I was even more harsh on Gerhart albeit it for slightly different reasons. I (as “some” others) have always questioned her competency for the job and would prefer a CXO of any gender who is less of a sycophant and enabler, its just the impression I have of her from both afar and from direct dealings with her. As to Gerhart, frankly he was nothing more than a sneaky, manipulative and malignant presence at McCoart and I took great pleasure in pushing his buttons at every opportunity.

  22. Frank Johnson

    Lets see. 83000 students, 90 or so schools, a billion dollar budget and someone honestly thinks that you can make ANY type of impact in class size for 3.5 million?

    Even if you add 100 teachers with the money, where are they going to hold classes? If you want to go from 30 kids a class to 25, a 16% reduction, it will take HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars. You will have to add facilities.

    Oh yeah, do all this and don’t raises taxes!

    Someone is either drunk, kidding, on an island or is seeking a political issue.

  23. Shirley Collins

    The proffer backlog in PWC should be very easy to check. When I questioned Wally Covington about the only proffer for Haileys Grove was $60,000. toward a traffic light, around a curve and down a hill which will most likely never to done due to lack of safety, he told me that proffers do not have to be paid until the reason for the proffer is done. So there, is part of the explanation of proffers in many cases never being collected. On Linton Hall Road in the early 1990’s a proffer for the very first townhouse development, (at which time it took Coscan a very long time to sell the first unit), was for an underground tunnel at Linton Hall Rd for children to walk through to the proposed site of a Community Center across the road…well, ain’t seen it yet.

    1. There should be some way to legally bind the builder/developer to doing was stated. I am thinking …oh..a contract? Why isn’t that done?

  24. It is the county that takes the proffer money into a dark pit of no return!

  25. Shirley Collins

    Moonhowler and Elena…thanks for info, but frankly this is a very serious matter and should be investigated fully as to criteria for proffers…Avendale, the proffer for road was just for right of way acquistion, of which Brookfield already owned much of it already purchased from some landowners…per Transportation Dept this is federally funded for the realignment to remove from rural crescent and PWC Transportation Staff is going to do the roadwork, obviously eventually as some right of way is in litigation…however, this has not obviously stopped the building along the Old Vint Hill Road, which I assume is also a part of Avendale which does remain in rural crescent until the new realignment is in place, removing from rural crescent, is my total understanding. Cart before the horse?

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