Or let’s put it another way–Prince William County, you cheap bastards.

Today I listened to the budget presentation from the  Tuesday night BOCS meeting. I was appalled.  Tonight I looked at it online.   The new budget sickened me.

Prince William County is not a poor county made up of poor folks.  It is quite wealthy and has a lot going for it.    It’s also, by Northern Virginia standards, a fairly affordable place to live.  So why are some people, especially those in my district, clamoring for lower taxes?

For that matter, why would our Board of Supervisors agree to make libraries the untouchables in a draconian budget slashing caper?  Why would money be taken away from the performing arts? Why would poor children be denied dental services and drug rehab programs be eradicated?  It isn’t even our poor and most vulnerable who will lose services.  It’s everyone.

Most importantly, why would the salaries of county employees by frozen for 5 years?

All I hear is whining, bitching and complaining about this employee or that employee on the local blogs.  Yesterday, once again,  I heard a supervisor cut off a female  employee mid sentence.  How unprofessional.  I don’t even think he realized how rude he is.  (pssst:  its dismissive to do that to anyone, especially female employees).

I am so glad I no longer have any  employment association with the county.  Do the supervisors not see that around 4,000 people view them as their bosses?  (especially the chairman)

When did any of them send out a Happy Holidays email to all employees?  I am sure there is a master data base that supervisors could ask for.  There are citizen groups that meet with supervisors all the time.  Do the supervisors ever meet with the employees?  EVER?  It hasn’t happened in my memory.  Perhaps departments could send a couple of representatives each or meet by months.  There are 12 months.  Surely the supervisors could get to everyone in a year.

How about telling them what a fine job they are doing instead of letting one or two supervisors demoralize everyone.  How about some praise here and there.  They are already getting beaten up on the underwear blog.

I believe if I worked for the county I would just develop one huge WTF attitude, work 9 to 5 and be done with it.  Most people go into civil service to serve.  Why bother.  These people just get kicked in the teeth year after year.

Hang in there, staff.  Keep your eyes on the prize.  Let that prize be that VRS pension.  You sure aren’t getting anything from PWC.  Shame on any supervisor who does not reject the 1.3% budget.  Get back to reality.  Live with the plan you made:  4% is the only acceptable budget.

9 Thoughts to “WTF? 1.3% –The shame of Prince William County”

  1. Pat.Herve

    Race to the bottom.

    What is not addressed by the budget is that every dollar cut from the County budget reduces the funds to our ever growing school population. Trim the fat, reduce costs all you want but at some point they do need to address the fact that PWC schools are functioning at near state minimum levels and disinvesting will cost us in the long run. Having maximum class size is not a positive. Not giving raises (while increasing health contributions) causes people to leave for other jurisdictions. Simple math.

    1. Yes it is and I am tired of reading about the fat in the county budget on the government side and the school side. There is none.

      This budget will decimate the schools.

      I think if given the opportunity, most people will leave. I expect teachers and cops to transfer to jurisdictions where they don’t have to beg for every penny. Remember that the cops are on a 5 year salary freeze. Why would you stay if you could get picked up by another jurisdiction.

      Thanks, Pete. Great suggestion to do the CPI. NOT. which idiot did you get that one from?

  2. Allen

    If the PWCS budget is so lean, how do you explain the 10’s of millions of dollars in “savings” in the Second Quarter Budget Review virtually every year?

    http://thederecho.blogspot.com/2015/02/numbers-dont-lie.html

  3. Wendy

    Allen :
    If the PWCS budget is so lean, how do you explain the 10’s of millions of dollars in “savings” in the Second Quarter Budget Review virtually every year?
    http://thederecho.blogspot.com/2015/02/numbers-dont-lie.html

    Because that has been deliberately planned to support the following fiscal year budget. Never been a secret. The number has been dwindling for several years and for FY16 it’s been just about zerod out. So, all departments have had budget reductions programmed in for FY16. That was done before the 1.33% guidance.

  4. Wendy

    – meant to include that this change in practice was recommended by the County’s auditing firm. It was outlined in the slides the other night.

  5. Meanwhile people need to be careful not to shoot the messenger. Melissa Peacor did not do this to the county. She did as she was directed to do by the BOCS. I am sure the new budget made her as sick as it did the rest of the employees.

    I was told that someone is still whining about our political cartoon of Nov. 7, 2011. Ha! Good. I almost feel like posting again. Same puppet, different puppet-master.

    Maybe I could commission another cartoon….hmmmmm….

    Every young artist needs to have a sponsor.

  6. Bogart

    budget meeting is a terrible joke. This is what was asked for and now we have two supervisors copping out and abstaining on everything because now they don’t want to do this on camera…all they do is scream the sky is falling and never really make any tough decisions.

    1. I just groused about the same thing on the open thread. They have copped out. I simply feel like I am not being represented since I live in the Gainesville District.

      I see this as obstructionism because they didn’t get their own way. This is preliminary. Nothing is set in stone. They both need to man up.

    2. I wonder if the Grey Eminence directed Lawson and Candland to abstain or if they thought that one up on their own?

      Why don’t they just go home now? They are non-participants. (well, other than going in and out of the meeting)

      Hark! Mrs. Lawson just voted to restore the Boys and Girls Club. Good for her. I hope she is back on board.

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