May 23 Open Thread: NCCo Tax Hike Dies in Fiery Collision With Reality
New Castle County executive Matt Meyer claimed he was confident his proposed 15% tax increase would pass, which makes him 0 for 3 in his arithmetic: Everybody else thought 15% was too much to ask for, everybody else knew even-numbered years have elections in them (though not for his job) and last night county council voted 10-3 against the proposal, making Meyer look like an idiot.
Not as big an idiot as Sen. Dave Lawson, yet another former state trooper forming the state trooper Republican caucus in Dover. I’ve always attributed Lawson’s rank stupidity to the fact that he ran a gun range, meaning he almost certainly has had his already-modest IQ diminished by lead poisoning. He demonstrated it again by introducing a bill that would piss away spend $65 million on school security while demanding each school hire two armed security guards at their own expense. I wonder if these morons, who are quick to blame violent video games for school shootings, realize they are actually making this more like a video game by introducing such obstacles?
The State News continues its state-best Dover reporting by going into detail on the budget markup. Did you know that half of the “extra” money is now spoken for?
That poor guy who got hit with a lava bomb talks to a local TV station about almost losing his leg from the impact. Just as you might expect, not only was it the hardest he’d ever been hit — the leg shattered above the ankle but doctors managed to save it — it was also hot. So there’s your preview of life in hell.
In more News of the Obvious, a Pew international survey found that Americans, on average, are prudish, delusional and selfish religious fanatics. Alternet has a longish summation of the findings.
Back on Earth 1, an expert in international diplomacy explains, step by step, why team Trump is even worse at this than you expected he’d be.
Lawson demanding that schools hire armed security guards while opposing any controls over deadly weaponry speaks for it(him)self. It’s real simple: As long as these weapons are readily available, mass shootings will continue.
I think it’s time to question Meyer’s political instincts. Who is advising him? It’s one thing to underscore the point that, if county residents want good services, they’ll have to pay for them. But Meyer’s strategy here killed any chance he had of getting the property tax increase through. And, as we know, it’s always easier to raise taxes in an off-year.
He’d do well to take a cue from the General Assembly. Money fall out of the sky in an election year? Give state workers a bonus.
From what went down, it appears they’ll present him with a 7.5% tax increase. Let’s see how he reacts.
What i am confused about is this:
“Among those cuts are ending proactive policing, closing two major parks like Glasgow or Rockwood, no longer cutting the grass at 207 neighborhood parks and closing a major library like the new, $30 million Route 9 library or the Brandywine Library.”
besides the new (over priced) library, nothing else has changed much. so dont all these items have a budget line each year? so where are the expenses coming from? and if you close those parks and stop cutting the grass I am going to assume you will be laying off a lot of the parks and rec department?
Any “cuts” being talked about are the decision of the County Exec, not decisions being forced upon him by the council. He could just as easily trim county Human Resources staff, eliminate the NCC TV station, reduce sewer maintenance, kill the youth summer jobs program, or trim staff in his own office or on the council side. He’s threatening library and park closures because they’re the most popular.
Jason found this site and it’s actually awesome. They ran the Pee Tape is actually very sexy bit…
https://resistancehole.clickhole.com/drumpf-s-complicity-in-israel-s-brutal-attacks-on-pales-1826117686
CUT TO THE BUDGET TO THE BONE.
Given the choice, I’d much rather cut you to the bone.
Thanks Jason for the ResistanceHole….laff a minute…especially the pee tape.
Chris Coons with a significant tax increase voted for by 11 of the 13 existing councilmen created a huge reserve fund. The idea was that the reserve fund along with strategically spaced small tax increases and and a vigorous review of county spending would avoid the need for ever requiring large tax increases. It was a good plan. Chris left and the proverbial drunken sailor tom gordon was elected county executive. Gordon saw that large reserve account as an opportunity to insure his reelection with a whisky for all my friends spending frenzy. Along with the help of the rubber stamp council the fund was depleted so quickly that the need for significant tax increases were hastened. Enter Matt Meyer the new exec with zero governmental or public policy experience along a much less than mediocre staff. He ignored the structural changes that needed to be part of a 5 or 10 year financial plan that is needed to give the taxpayers of the county that their money is being spent wisely. He made a few cosmetic cuts and proposed a 15% tax increase that absent significant cuts and changes in the way the county does business would require another 15 or 20 percent increase every couple of years. Incredibly the genuses onthe council thought 15% and no cuts was too high. Without the significant cuts and structural changes needed, I estimate the County budget would require a 5% tax every year forever
Godfather, what a crock of horseshit. Coons did no such thing. Bashing Gorden who didnt raise taxes is just more proof Coonsie gets a free ride with you demoRATS who support that slub.
Where is the con artist Karen Hartley Nagle is this mess?
@spk: Gordon did exactly what godfather says. Gordon didn’t raise taxes because he depleted banked funds, and he did it both times he was in office. Your continued support of that criminal is to your everlasting detriment.
alby thanks for coming to the rescue with the truth. but the gordon people are like trump supporters, you can feed them shit and they think its ice cream. With respect to the president of council as i recall in her campaign she pointed out the rapidly depleting reserve account and how the car would go off the cliff if we didn’t get to working toward a long term financial plan
@godfather: The person we’re talking to actually defended Freebery back in the day. “Eve was framed” was the rallying cry.
We ate shit for 8 years under Obama/Biden…
Your eating shit right now you anti-american, anti-patriotic schlub sitting amongst other shit eaters, swallowing without tasting. We been eatin shit since RAYgun, and both vile Bush’s, at least Junior wasn’t as mentally challenged as this Dufus. Do you hear Yanni or Laurel?
Godfather, “and you believed that clown? Alby you never waste second attacking someone for what they supported at that time. I for one was Gordon supporter and never believed the political crap brought against him. Of course crap goes on in EVERY administration…I was asking about Karen Hartley Nagle…care to respond to that.
Tom Kline is the stupidest person I know.
“I for one was Gordon supporter and never believed the political crap brought against him.”
That’s because you’re an ignorant bigmouth and never did a lick of research about any of it. Fuck you.
“I was asking about Karen Hartley Nagle…care to respond to that.”
Unlike you, I don’t repeat the same thing over and over, but just for you, she’s the most unqualified person I’ve ever seen in office, except perhaps for Karen Weldin Stewart.
Lets also thank Gordon for the Sam Guy return and elevating him (an attorney who was disbarred) to the CAO position! THE CAO OF THE COUNTY!!!!
Having said that, I do miss Grimaldi and his antics, tapes, palace intrigue, law suits, traffic stops, threats, and some of the other crazy stuff he pulled. It was good entertainment even though we were watching them loot the place (again) while they did it.
Could someone write a blog post about Grimaldi and where he is?
Davey G. What a character. His name came up while I was canoeing the Christina River with two News Journal reporters yesterday evening. Strange but true.