The Daily Character Assassination: Where is that Golden Rule?

MoonHowler

golden rule

Logo-gate, Silver Lake, and Yorkshire.

I just ran over to a local blog to see whose character was being assassinated today.  I expected it to be a three-fer.  It exceeded my expectations.

Let’s see….Grant, Kaczmarek, Peacor and Nohe, the usual suspects.  They were basically mimicked, called liars,  stooges, stupid and disgusting.  Give it a rest, bloggers.  Handle the issues without the smug air of superiority, the demeaning tones, and the name calling.

I don’t mind governmental transparency or the questioning of govt actions.  I mind the name calling and lack of professionalism by the bloggers.  If history repeats itself, there will be some bull crap printed about Moonhowler and the woodshed.  Please don’t.  Just improve, develop some professionalism, and stop name calling.

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PWC to slash jail drug program: more stupid is as stupid does

MoonHowler

drug free

Last week in order to prove their tea party cred, apparently, the PWC BOCS proposed slashing the county DORM  (Drug Offender Rehabilitation Module), program, a drug treatment program for incarcerated criminals.  Jeremy Borden reported the following in washingtonpost.com:

Prince William County officials are considering cutting local funding for the county jail’s substance abuse treatment program, a move that has touched off intense lobbying from defense attorneys and law enforcement officials who say the program helps inmates clean up their lives, keeps the community safer and saves money.

Although county supervisors don’t make any final budget decisions until a scheduled meeting Tuesday, a potential $607,000-per-year cut to the program took many by surprise last week. Supervisors had considered other potentially painful cuts, including doing away with two new libraries and slashing the local subsidy to the county health department.

The board already has decided to spare the libraries and health department, but the proposed cut to the substance abuse program remained as supervisors sought a compromise to whittle residents’ real estate tax bills while maintaining core services. Those negotiations have yielded a plan that would have the average county resident paying $3,392 in real estate taxes, an increase of 2.3 percent.

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PWC residents reject budget cuts

MoonHowler

pwc map

Washingtonpost.com:

Around 40 Prince William County residents weighed in on the county’s proposed budget Tuesday night at the McCoart administration building, most of them telling the Board of County Supervisors that the county needs more robust programs and not the cuts some supervisors are mulling.

Supervisors have, thus far, been split on both the proposed real-estate tax rate and whether to enhance or cut county programs. But many who showed up Tuesday said that cuts to the blueprint laid out by County Executive Melissa S. Peacor — which provides funding for additional police and firefighters, upgrades school fields, buys voting machines and hires school resource officers to safeguard the county’s middle schools, among other initiatives — would prove harmful.

If one reads the local  conservative blogs  one would think that most of the county wanted to cut the budget and move to a flat tax plan.  Not so.

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Why ARE PWC Schools over-crowded?

Elena

captain_obvious2

One of my husband’s favorite sayings is “Captain Obvious” when someone says something so incredibly, well, obvious.   There are parents in the PWC community that have suddenly come to the realization that our class sizes are woefully too full, so full, that quality instruction is being jepoardized.   PWC school has reached the state’s legal limit for class size.

PWCS raised class sizes to the state limits this school year in response to current budget constraints. In the executive summary of the 2014 budget, Walts notes that reductions of teacher staffing ratios (or increases in class sizes) have led to savings of $4.3 million at the middle-school level and $5.3 million at the high school level. Walts also notes that next year’s budget does not restore those cuts.

In response to concerns about class sizes, Walts’s office has said it would cost $15 million annually to reduce average class sizes by one student at all levels. The Code of Virginia sets the following maximum class-size limits: 29 for kindergarten classes; 30 for grades one through three; and 35 for grades four through six. English classes are limited to 24 in grades one through 12, otherwise there are no state maximum class-size limits for grades seven and above, according to Dena Rosenkrantz, an attorney with the Virginia Education Association.

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PWC: Nixon and Andrew Johnson out, Lincoln and Washington in

MoonHowler
One Bad Dude!
One Bad Dude!

Every once in a while, I hear something so absurd that I have to savor it…just for the humor.  Corey continues to entertain.

There has been  talk for some time  in the Stewart budget proposal, about doing away with 2 federal holiday observances for county employees.  The two holidays were Columbus Day and Presidents Day.  From what I was able to gather, this was just the final shot to already bad morale in the county.  The employees didn’t like it.

Corey announced today in the BOCS meeting that he would not be present during Supervisors Time but that he had a proposal.  Naturally he butt in line and outlined his wants, although not at the appropriate time.  He suggested that the supervisors agree to not observe Columbus Day or Presidents’ Day as county holidays.  He then said  that it was great to observe Washington and Lincoln but it also meant that one would have to observe all the presidents like Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon.  He then proposed  giving back the holidays to the employees on Lincoln and Washington’s actual birthdays.

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A case of blackmail and extortion: Where is Robin Hood?

MoonHowler

robin

From the Sheriff of Nottingham PWC blog:

The Sheriff will make this offer:
The PWC Republican Committee passes a resolution strongly endorsing a Flat Tax Bill for FY 2014 for Prince William County that affirms the Republican principles of lower taxes and smaller government.  And then the PWC Republican Committee informs the Republican members of the BOCS that the Republican Party endorsement in the next election is contingent on their support for the Flat Tax Bill resolution and the principles that support it.
In return, The Sheriff agrees to muzzle his sharp tongue in the future and express only the most civil of criticisms when necessary.  Cross my heart, hope to die.
Seems like a fair deal to The Sheriff.
What say you?
***
What say I?  I say that the Republican Party of Prince William County should not be held hostage or  allow itself to be a victim of extortion or blackmail.  There is room for debate regarding a flat tax.  However,  that debate in no way settles the issue.  We must consider education and public safety first.
***
Most of us don’t really look at the R and the D behind a person’s name as much as we look at their vision for  the county.  I don’t really think property taxes have gone up much at all the last few years.  In fact, mine went down significantly there for a while.  I am tired of the whining.   We don’t have high taxes here in Prince William County.  Cheap isn’t necessarily better.
***
If memory serves me correctly, Robin of Locksley came along to protect the people from the Sheriff of Nottingham.  Where is Robin Hood?

 

BOCS meeting: A post mortem

MoonHowler
The PWC Rogues Gallery

Yesterday’s board meeting definitely ended up being a “Sh**-Storm.”  There really is no other way to put it.  To date, the open thread is  the location where it has already been discussed.

I noticed my usual crew was not here.  I know why.  We don’t allow county employees to be beaten up here.  That rule will continue.  They cannot fight back.  However, that does not mean we cannot discuss events that involve them.  There is  a difference in beating someone up and discussing an event.  Politicians are fair game, up to a point.  Politicians  can fight back as we have seen.   I more or less use fact as a standard.

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Not a tea party county: don’t go on the cheap

MoonHowler
CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!!!!

Tuesday brings another board of county supervisors meeting and more red meat for the blogosphere.   The red meat lately has come from the supervisors budget time.

Remember last spring when Corey Stewart pretty much told us that if we were going to attract business we were going to have to have services that people wanted?  He actually mouthed the words that taxes might go up.  All that has been forsaken it appears and he is now back to Tea Party Mentality.

The problem with Tea Party Mentality is that Prince William County isn’t a poor county.  We are the 9th richest county in the nation and have the second largest school system in the state.  Our school system is suffering.  Teachers aren’t getting raises and the per pupil classroom ratio is the highest in the state.  There are rumblings now to “adjust” the amount of money given to the schools.  Currently the school system receives 56.75% of the revenue.  I certainly don’t think anyone intends to give the schools any more money.  That would be a first.  There are also rumblings about the BOCS having more input into the School Board budget.  I do not believe this is legal. If it is, it shouldn’t be.  Why have a school board then?

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Auditors RIF’ed: Don’t gut the feather pillow

MoonHowler

Get Microsoft Silverlight

 

Washingtonpost.com

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors is expected to vote Tuesday to eliminate the county’s internal auditor department and outsource the work to a contractor, a move that critics charge would deprive the county of an internal, independent watchdog.

In a strongly worded memo, the county’s auditing department said the plan would undercut the county’s credibility and bring in outsiders who are not familiar with the complicated workings of the government, which has an operating budget of $914 million.

“The public should be able to have confidence that there is a genuinely independent internal audit function,” read the memo, which was obtained by The Washington Post.

If the job is outsourced, “taxpayers will never be able to count on learning the truth about what may be going wrong in the county.” The memo also said the plan “would give taxpayers the impression of a county’s desire to not shed light on potentially embarrassing audit findings that could also look bad to regulators or rating agencies.”

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Prince William Franken-County: Waste Behind the scenes in County govt.

MoonHowler

 

 

People in Prince William County government report that if Prince William County were an actual business, it would have gone bankrupt because of pure inefficiency and refusal to modernize. That sure paints a different picture than El Jefe the chairman paints.

Corey Stewart tried to tell us, in his recent letter to the editor in the News & Messenger, that Prince William County ranks above all others; so much so that the federal government ought to follow our model.  Why is he crowing, blowing and bragging? He wants the supposed county accomplishments on his personal resume for his bid for Lt. Governor. Corey wants us to believe that our taxes haven’t risen and that government is acting responsibly, all while forking over tax payer money to his power broker buds heading up pet projects.  In turn, his war chests are filled.  Deepthroat tells another story.

Corey tries to sell the taxpayers a bill of goods based on tooth fairy money and spending. He tells us rubes what he thinks we want to hear. In the first place, if you lower the tax rate and raise the real estate assessment, you haven’t lowered taxes. Money talks and we know what walks.

We all know what bulls do!

 

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Recuse or Resign

MoonHowler

 

 

Prince William County  Supervisor Pete Candland has proposed a resolution to strengthen laws preventing conflict of interest.  Should his resolution pass, not only will county supervisors be prevented from voting on activities where direct financial gain is a possibility, his resolution takes the spirit of the law  further, to prevent other types of gain.

 

 

According to Jeremy Borden in the Washington Post:

Supervisor Peter K. Candland (R-Gainesville) offered a resolution last week to tackle that. His measure would force supervisors to disclose involvement in organizations that receive county funds and recuse themselves from voting on issues in which they or their relatives, including spouses, are involved in.

“Supervisors may still serve on boards of charities and have a positive impact on their community, but they must recuse themselves from voting when there is a direct conflict of interest,” Candland said in an e-mail response to questions.

Supervisor Peter K. Candland (R-Gainesville) offered a resolution last week to tackle that. His measure would force supervisors to disclose involvement in organizations that receive county funds and recuse themselves from voting on issues in which they or their relatives, including spouses, are involved in.

“Supervisors may still serve on boards of charities and have a positive impact on their community, but they must recuse themselves from voting when there is a direct conflict of interest,” Candland said in an e-mail response to questions.

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That Rascally Sheriff (of Nottingham)

MoonHowler

The new kid in town, the Sheriff of Nottingham, is no longer such a newbie.  He seems well entrenched.  I find myself getting up each morning to see what he has in store for us.  Yes.  He is entertaining and I think he is probably what every local government needs.

The board of county supervisors is a body very used to scratching the backs of each other.  They will stab but when it comes to deal cutting, you can pretty much count on cooperation…to a fault.  Then there are the pay backs.  This one and that one will contribute to campaigns.  Corey always has something going so he is probably  has the most expertise at this shell game.

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Time for a Vote of No Confidence from the PWC Taxpayers?

MoonHowler

It is very tempting to call for a vote of NO Confidence  directed at the BOCS from the taxpayers  for allowing last week’s debacle to continue regarding the amendments attached to  Pete Candland’s resolution.  However, No Confidence votes seem a bit melodramatic and are pretty meaningless.

I would hope that those amendments were repealed or rescinded today before the minutes are approved.  Let’s see if the Board of County Supervisors has the integrity to do so or if they are just going to allow Jenkins and Stewart to jerk them around.

What a bogus bunch of crap Angela Horan handed down.  Surely you all don’t believe those “amendments” were germane?

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Captain Flip Flop, this is your life Corey Stewart!

MoonHowler

Jeremy Borden  of the Washington Post traced the wind blown political career of Supervisor Corey Stewart over the past 9 years, on the eve of his announcement to run for Virginia Lt. Governor.  In his article entitled, Stewart’s changing stance on development in Prince William, Borden shows a candidate who goes where he thinks he will get to votes.  Stewart certainly showed his stripes today as he planned to  announce his candidacy from Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center in Woodbridge.  According to Borden, at the Washington Post:

Stonebridge, Stewart says, is emblematic of a new way forward for economic development in Prince William, an issue that was the focus of his reelection campaign last year.

Stewart started out as a politician with a strong desire to stop sprawl and to protect the environment.  He had many folks, both Democrat and Republican on his side for that reason.  This flip flop has caused many of his former supporters to become disenchanted with his political career.

But some former supporters say Stewart has lost his way on development issues.

No longer, critics say, is he seen as someone who would force developers to pay their fair share and help temper the feverish pace of home construction that has overwhelmed roads and schools.

“His campaign account shows he is now beholden to the development community,” said Jeanine Lawson, a former Stewart campaign volunteer. “It’s a disappointment because I thought he was principled on the issue.”

The project’s developers, District-based Roadside Development, contributed $10,000 to Stewart’s campaign account in the past couple of years, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, or VPAP, which tracks money in politics.

In recent years, Stewart has greatly increased his totals from real estate and construction interests, according to VPAP. From that sector, Stewart raised $308,782 in 2010 and 2011, compared with $134,901 from 2003 through 2009.

Back in the old days, Stewart  prided himself on not taking developer money.  That was then and this is now.  The most cursory glance at VPAP tells the story.  Cory Stewart is running on developer money.  He even says:

“Some of that comes with the maturity of being in office and having to govern,” he said of his shift on development issues. “When you become chairman, you get a broader perspective. You understand . . . ‘We cannot provide for increased prosperity and increased job growth without promoting and helping businesses to grow.’ ”

Stewart says that in a free market, developers have a lot of latitude: “The only way is to work with [developers] and cut deals with them.” [emphasis mine]

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Wartime Museum? Is it just another shell game or do they want a million bucks?

Angelina_Apr

Kipp Hanley of the News and Messenger did a great job explaining the recent developments of the proposed Wartime Museum that some day will be over in Dale City.  So far, the County dealings with this endeavor have been shrouded in the haze of politics.  Kipp held up the torch and uncovered a few things.  For starters, and most importantly, the museum wants $200k from us, the taxpayers, for the next 5 years.  Secondly, the CEO hired to oversee all the fund-raising etc. is no longer at the helm  the organization.  However, it does appear that he still sits on the board.  Thirdly, and this becomes a question, why is the director of operations, the same person who is in charge of doling out the arts money in Prince William County?

 

 

Hanley’s article, Wartime Museum gets financial reinforcements, managed to unearth all sorts of information most of us had questions about but couldn’t find the answers to.

Taxpayers were once again bamboozled by the a “land deal.”  Apparently the Hyltons donated the land in exchange for a zoning swap deal.  NO plans have surfaced yet for that parcel of land.  Why was the county even involved?   If the Hyltons want to donate land, have at it.  They shouldn’t get anything in exchange for their generosity from the county.

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