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| The Maestro |
Masterfully.
Craftily.
Shrewd
and cunning, he delivered a package that no one could refuse, and they bought
it hook, line and sinker.
The
real estate tax rate of 4 cents was approved.
There’s
much more in the budget, which will take effect July 1.
There
are increased fines and fees, as well.
Sure,
Smigiel and Protogyrou griped and groused, but they succumbed to the
inevitability of the majority.
Protogyrou
harped about the impact on senior citizens with a fixed income.
Smigiel
didn’t like the process.
Sometimes,
I think they protest too much and too loudly, but only at the last minute, in
the waning moments of major decisions.
Where
were they a few weeks ago when Fraim floated the increase of four cents in the
tax rate?
It
didn’t matter if they opposed the budget.
It
was approved, nonetheless.
More
money for four new schools.
More
money for city employees.
More
money for pet projects.
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| Better luck next time |
More
money for Nauticus, Waterside, the cruise terminal, and other money sucking
projects.
More
money for light rail to keep running from nowhere to nowhere.
Good
politics? Yes.
Good
government? No.
No
one suggested budget cuts.
No
one mentioned furloughs for city employees or keeping wages at their present
level, at least until revenues start to rebound.
No
one suggested a thorough scrubbing of city government from top to bottom of
personnel and perks.
No
one advocated for selling more city property.
It
seems like there’s a little something for everyone.
New
schools.
More
technology for educating our children, though the latest whiz bang stuff is
just the gloss.
Property
in Broad Creek.
What
else?
One
can’t say until the budget is unraveled, page by page, line item by line item.
Yes,
there is one more thing.
There’s
money for communities, though how it will be spent and who decides how it will
be spent is questionable and is always subject to the bumbling of bureaucrats.
We
have been played, pure and simple.
We
deserve it, though.
We
are complacent, myopic and fearful.
We
are fractured and splintered by ward politics, which should be dissolved.
The
ward system creates complacency within a system that has degenerated into
absolute control by tribal chieftains.
And
Fraim knows how to play the system. He’s extremely adept at it. And he won
again. Give him credit for his politics.
Because
they served him well.
Give
a little here and a little there, for this ward or that ward, and he’s got the
votes.
Well
done, Mayor Fraim.
Let’s
see how city government handles the money.
Two sales tax increases in a matter of months: Norfolk increased the sales tax last fall and now they are increasing the property tax.
ReplyDeleteI can take my retail purchases to Chesapeake but it's not as easy to move my home.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for buying in Norfolk? Or maybe this is what it will take for Norfolk home-owners to finally wake up? Or maybe we like being abused?
Politics is a strange, strange animal.
The Pilot is reporting that last night's vote will amount to about $100 in new taxes a year for a property owner with a home valued at $250k.
ReplyDeleteFor someone who doesn't have the privilege of city employment, for someone who works in the private sector and hasn't had a pay raise in several years - where will this money come from?
Maybe a couple date nights can be scaled back - can't afford the baby sitter. Or maybe a couple tutoring sessions for Johnny can be eliminated. Or maybe providing extra work around the house for the neighbor - who is really feeling the economic downturn and needs extra cash - will have to be discontinued. Or maybe donations to the church or to the food bank can be curtailed.
Whatever the case, how do any of these changes make us a better community?
Mr. Fraim may have started his political career with good motives, but he is completely divorced from the problems of average working families. He is tone deaf and it is time for him to retire.
I wish to enroll in the January class. If full, please put me on waiting list.
ReplyDeleteShall i send a deposti?
My site: http://luzdeltepeyac.edu.mx/cursos/blog/index.php?postid=4933