Day: February 23, 2012

Many folks have contacted us about the PWC discretionary funds that are given to the PWC BOCS.  Last week the Committee of 100 dedicated an entire evening to discussion about this practice.  What are discretionary funds?  Money that the supervisors get to pay for office, staff, supplies,  charity and regional arts and entertainment.  They can spend some, all or none of it.  Before it goes to items not part of keeping the office, the supervisors announce their intentions a meeting before they donate.  Usually the other supervisors rubber stamp their approval.  I can’t ever remember when that didn’t happen.

Many citizens feel that this practice is just playing too loosey goosey with county funds.  Others feel that the supervisors act like they are pulling out their personal checkbook and resent that there is no mention of the taxpayers when these donations are made.

The topic of discretionary funds came to a head when Supervisor Wally Covington attempted to give $100,000 to a charity run by his wife.  The citizens and blogosphere errupted and Mr. Covington rightly pulled in his intention announcement.   This episode in PWC history left residents with more determination than ever to put an end to the discretionary fund practice.  The problem is, which of the supervisors will willingly give up the ‘keys to the safe?’  Will they be willing to vote themselves out of discretionary funds?  Furthermore, PWC is the only county in the area that uses this financial system of public funds.  What is a better way to handle this kinds of money.  It also brings up the question of county support for charities and other worthwhile endeavors.  Who gets money from the public coffers and who doesn’t?

Your input is greatly needed.

Washington Post:

In a highly unusual move, the full Virginia Senate killed the so-called ‘personhood’ bill for the year just hours after it seemed likely to surv ive.

The Senate voted 24-14 to send the bill back to Senate Education and Health Committee, with two anti-abortion Democrats abstaining.

Sen. Richard Saslaw (D-Fairfax) made the motion. Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment (R-James City) agreed, saying the bill needed more time to be examined.

The bill would have provided that “unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the commonwealth, subject only to the laws and constitutions of Virginia and the United States, precedents of the United States Supreme Court, and provisions to the contrary in the statutes of the commonwealth.”

The action came not long after a Senate committee voted along party lines to approve the bill, despite the opposition of those who argued that the broad measure could prohibit birth control and in vitro fertilization.

Couple this lastest development with the trans-vaginal ultrasound bill being pulled, and the best laid plans of mice and men went down in a blaze of ….nothingness. The women of Virginia decided they were having none of this nonsense. Many also credit the comediennes and liberal commentators for the defeat. Rachel Maddow was informative. She presented the time line and explained the dangers of the bills. Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Amy Pohler and Seth Myer mocked, mimicked and ridiculed Virginia lawmakers. Morning Joe discussed both bills and pointed out the damage both could do to McDonnell’s chances for Vice President.

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So ,let me get this straight, in spite of the Planning Commission denial of the application and Staff’s recommendation that it be denied, the BOCS votes to approve the CPA Wolf Run development. The proverbial “Cherry” on the top is the subsequent two Supervisors, Stewart and Candland, who decry the approved “advertised” tax rate of 1.215 up from last years 1.204.

Let’s recap shall we. Corey approves the HUGE residential development of Avendale, Candland approves what SHOULD have been commercial zoning into residential with his Wolf Run vote, and they are complaining about having to increase taxes to pay for needed local resources like teachers and new police stations?

Stewart said one item that he thinks can be cut from Peacor’s proposed budget is the Central District Police Station, which has generated some neighborhood opposition. Stewart said it needs to be built at some point but could probably be pushed off to the future.

Peacor’s facility budget calls for a new station near Davis Ford Road and Prince William Parkway to maintain response times and relieve overcrowding of the area’s other police stations. The station would cost of $28.1 million over the next three fiscal years.

What world do some people live in? The BOARD is directly responsible to for ensuring the needs of the community are met. Who do they believe will ultimately pay for the new housing they themselves approve?

Here is a suggestion, all these Comp plan amendments that will come before you in the next month or so, all these developers (well, really, only two) who will ask for special allowances to build houses in areas zoned for commercial, just say one word…… “NO”!

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