Rod Stewart tells us that the ‘First Cut is the Deepest.’ Corey Stewart tells us that cuts will be ‘deep’ and ‘painful’.
The News and Messenger highlighted part of yesterday’s BOCS meeting but concentrated on Chairman Stewart’s State of the County Address. Excerpts include:
As part of his “state of the county address,” Stewart talked of Prince William’s unusual circumstances in comparison with surrounding jurisdictions.
“Last year, when other major localities in the region hoped for the best, we prepared for the worst,” he said.And as a result, Prince William differs from other communities in that budget shortfalls were not felt in this current fiscal year, and taxes are not planned to increase in the coming fiscal year. Still, he said, challenges are coming.
“[Our] work has just begun,” Stewart said, “[and] 2009 will present the toughest fiscal challenge this board or this county has ever faced. Declining home values and
shrinking sales tax and other revenues means a projected shortfall in the next fiscal year of $190 million. This problem is compounded by the substantial cuts expected from the General Assembly.”The work for the upcoming budget season will focus mainly on cuts: “The cuts will be deep. The cuts will be painful. But the cuts mean that … this board shall deliver a tax cut to all of you at home,” he said.
Stewart touted some of the county’s perceived successes of the past year — deporting more than 1,300 illegal aliens; implementing an illegal immigration policy that’s being copied by other communities; building roads in the face of transportation budget shortfalls and cuts; creating a housing assistance program for government employees that “helps reduce the oversupply of unsold homes” and foreclosures.
How can Corey Stewart not think budget shortfalls are not being felt this current year? Has he been in a school? That might be a good place to start.
He announced, with great pride, that there would be not tax increases. Now, does this sound like a smart move to make? Don’t most people want to live in a county where there are services, libraries, police, fire and rescue, parks? Perhaps he does notunderstands what we are facing.
Perhaps he might want to hold off on that promise not to raise taxes. No new taxes bit Daddy Bush in the butt. The same might happen to Daddy Stewart. Why would anyone want a tax break now, when county employees will soon be laid off in droves and services will disappear.
Stewart also labors under the impression that 1,300 illegal criminal aliens were deported. I would feel more confident had he explained that they were picked up by ICE. Actually, we have no idea what happened to them once ICE got them and we certainly have no knowledge that they were deported.
What localities are modeling us? Most localities see that we have the most foreclosures of any jurisdiction in the state and cross their index fingers in that manner that wards off vampires. Who would want to copy us?
Did ADC Superintendent Pete Meletis not tell the BOCS that many of our ‘deportees’ had been re-arrested in Prince William County or Manassas? It makes one wonder what our ‘return rate’ really is. Someone needs to refresh Mr. Stewart’s memory.
Perhaps some of the readers will be willing to comment on the committee report. That seemed like a lot people just wasted their time. Chairman Stewart appeared to be doing a lot of eye rolling.
On a very pleasant note, Brentsville Supervisor Wally Covington was elected Vice Chairman of the BOCS.
Please let us know your impressions of the meeting if you watched, attended, listened on the audio or have inside information.
Hi Tuscadero,
Good point. Mom explained and I won’t say anymore on the subject.
Sadly, we find out tonight that the missing child, Lexie Glover, was probably murdered. No words can express the horror of someone ending such a young life violently, tragically. Three weeks ago another double murder was committed, a mother and son during a home invasion, robbing a family of a mother, wife, sister, daughter, son, brother, grandson…….
A community was robbed of a poor little child and a mother and son who gave so much to that community. Are we turning into an urban slum? I have lived in PWC for many years. It has always had its tragedies and horrific events but they didn’t happen bam- bam -bam right on top of each other.
We need to increase our police force, not decrease it. We can’t continue to drain the life blood out of our officers solving these urban types of crime that keep repeating in rapid succession. Child murders, old women raped and beaten, home invasion murders, drive by shootings and car jackings are relatively new to our area, yet that is what the crime beat has looked like the past 3-4 months.
How dare the supervisors sit up there and tell us they are going to cut our taxes. We cannot afford to have our taxes cut. Every county service that is cut impacts another. The people of PWC want and need services, especially the services that affect quality of life and safety.
It is time for Corey Stewart to stop acting like a politician and lead the county to providing needed services to its population, and finding the money to do so, even if it means that tax bill is a few dollars more. Our way of life depends on it.
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
elitestliberals,
This would be a good time to apologize at least to Alanna for some of the horrible things said about her and her family.
maybe your just swooped in to insult everyone and then fly off.
Thank you for your wonderful post M-H, how true!
Has there been discussion of the Board wishing to limit Citizen’s Time to thirty minutes per meeting?
Or why, with the current economic climate, PWC feels the need to add departments. Those of you who follow development issues will doubtless recall that five years ago, there were two agencies responsible for development oversight – Planning, and Public Works. Three, if you count the Fire Marshal’s Office.
Today, PWC has Planning, Public Works, Transportation, and the newly-created Department of Development Services. Four, and five if you count Fire Marshal.
At a time when neighboring areas are cutting upper management positions and shrinking the size of government – e.g., City of Manassas went from twelve departments to seven, cutting five director positions – why is PWC creating a larger bureaucracy?
CoM cut the director positions because the City believed it to be more important to retain line staff – those who deliver service directly to constituents – than to retain highly-salaried, topped-out executives.
So why did PWC, less than a month after it cut nearly twenty positions in the development area, turn around and hire a highly-paid development director? In the meantime, any of us in PWC who hire a plumber to put in a new sink or want to finish our basements or even put up a fence ourselves will probably have to wait a little bit longer to get those things done. The positions that were cut were staffed by people who interact with Joe the Homeowner and Mary the Small Business Owner – folks like us – every single day.
Who is driving this train, the developers? I thought we were past all that.
And why does PWC need a development director and a development ombudsman and a development department? Where does the money come from?
Ridiculous.
Hello Howard, and welcome, if no one here has said that yet. Thanks for illuminating this issue. I was not aware it was happening. Does anyone else have any input on this one?
They did not hire a new director. They transferred the assistant Public WOrks Director.
THis was done mostly due to BOCS concern about slow turnaround time to developers and citizens. Ask them.
I didn’t hear they hired a new director, but I did hear that they created a position, so I checked the website.
Here is the resolution that created the job.
http://www.pwcgov.org/documents/bocs/briefs/2008/0715/res08-755.pdf
County Watcher is right, except I would change “developers and citizens” to “businesses and citizens.” It’s not just developers that utilize these services, it’s any commercial development, construction, office layout, homeowner who wants a fence… etc. The County had received complaints, so staff responded to the Board’s direction to streamline the permitting processes.
Moon Howler, thank you for the welcome. I look forward to talking to you and the rest of the regulars.
“They did not hire a new director. They transferred the assistant Public WOrks Director.
THis was done mostly due to BOCS concern about slow turnaround time to developers and citizens. Ask them.”
So they took tax money from Public Works funding? For the benefit of the developers?
What was the “turnaround time”, and for what?
“It’s not just developers that utilize these services, it’s any commercial development, construction, office layout, homeowner who wants a fence… etc. The County had received complaints, so staff responded to the Board’s direction to streamline the permitting processes.”
Yes, of course. Who complained and in what numbers? Moreover, going from three agencies to five in under five years hardly seems like streamlining. How does adding one more agency “streamline the permitting processes”? There was already an ombudsman in place. It seems to me that if there was “slow turnaround time”, she was not doing her job. And if not, why does she still have that job now that there’s a director? That makes no sense.
More bureaucracy, not less, when PWC is hurting, hardly seems like shrinking government and trimming the fat.
Howard, I don’t know the answer to your question. Maybe someone with more county knowledge than I have will come along with an answer. We have a lot of authorities around here.
I am more concerned that we have fewer taxes which means fewer services at a time we can least afford it. I guess you and I just have different oxen being gored!
Moon-Howler, actually I share your concerns. People in this county are hurting and it is only going to get worse. I
It just seems strange to me that Corey, Stirrup, Covington, etc. , who every year at budget time shriek about “cutting the fat”, would take taxpayer money to do something like that. They eliminated the Manassas Senior Center, and three months later started that new department.
Howard, I think it is selective ox goring perhaps.
How about that Gainesville Fire dept? All of that impropriety is beginning to unravel.
I am not sure about your question. I am trying to find out the answer.
Stick any responses anywhere on the front page. I forget to check back here on page 2.
Welcome Howard,
I’m wondering, are you looking for actual sane answers to your question about how this county government operates 🙂 ?