Following his support of the latest County property tax hike, Bob Carruth provided a thoughtful and thorough explanation of the decision to make that move, Which was published in the Independent Tribune.
Predictably, Harold Smith responded as follows:
June 19, 2005: Bob Carruth Propaganda
Bob Carruth propaganda appeared in an editorial in the Independent Tribune today and addressed his comments to the “group of people who wonder what happened”. He then details four points in length and promises to continue this column in Monday’s paper. Points 1, 2 and 4 are a rehash of the past as Bob ‘babbles” and tries to find someone else to blame for the 19% tax increase. The simple truth is that Commissioners Carpenter, Juba and Carruth are responsible for the 19% tax increase and the largest single tax increase of any county in North Carolina.
Carruth’s 3rd point discusses “fund balances” which he does not come close to explaining. His desire is to confuse the taxpayer and create a mystery around “fund balances” as though it is some sophisticated secret weapon.
I will respond to Carruth’s Point #3 by giving a few simple facts: The county averages on a monthly basis about $40 million cash in the bank. The county staff has stated that in the worst case scenario the most the county needs in the bank is $8 million to cover operating expenses in the budget from July to November until tax receipts began being collected in November. The difference between $40 million and $8 million - I define as “county savings”. In this example the county savings would be $32 million. The “fund balance” is an antiquated formula defined by the state calculated one time a year on June 30th but has no practical significance. What Commissioners Carpenter, Juba and Carruth stated is that we do not want to use county savings to pay operating expenses in the budget. However Commissioners Carpenter, Juba and Carruth have no hesitation in asking the taxpayers to use their savings to pay a 19% tax increase!
Carruth’s propaganda states - if we use county savings, the bond agency will lower our bond ratings. They have made a big deal of this all year long. Let me put this in simple terms - the county’s current bond rating is AA. A lower bond rate would be A which is still an excellent bond rating. The worst case scenario under a lower bond rating would mean that the county would pay a higher interest rate at 3%. My response to that is how many taxpayers can borrow money at 3%. I don’t know of any! So… as a taxpayer, my response is this - given the choice of increasing my taxes by 19% or the county paying as much as 3% interest, I choose the county paying 3% interest every day of the week.
The bottom line is as follows:
1. Commissioners Carpenter and Carruth voted “against” the $ .03 decrease in property tax in 2004.
2. Commissioners Carpenter, Juba and Carruth voted “for” a 19% increase in the 2005-06 property tax rate.
3. Commissioners Carpenter, Juba and Carruth do not want to spend any of the county’s savings but they have no hesitation in creating hardships for the taxpayers with a 19% tax increase!
For those taxpayers who are still wondering what happened, let me tell you what happened -County Manager John Day and his supporting staff are “dancing in the hallways and jumping in the air giving high fives” because they got 100% of what they were asking for! Just because a manager ask for a certain amount, does not justify giving them that amount.
Business professionals will tell you that the key ingredient for an effective board is that each member of that board must be independent from the executives and staff that run the day to day operations. It is obvious to this taxpayer that the major problem in Cabarrus County Government is that you have three commissioners who are not independent from the County Manager, John Day, and his staff. There are three commissioners, Carpenter, Juba and Carruth who rubber stamp everything that County Manager John Day wants to do. You can observe this in the public meetings, John Day sits directly beside Commissioner Carpenter and is constantly whispering in her ear what she needs to do and say! Juba and Carruth follow her lead!
As long as this condition persists, our Cabarrus County Government will continue to be inefficient , be proned to wasteful spending, approve more tax increases and fail to hold the county manager and staff accountable.
The reality of a 19% tax increase cannot be watered down by propaganda from Commissioners Carpenter, Juba and Carruth. Please hold them accountable at election time!Harold Smith (A Fighting Taxpayer and Voter)
In previous posts, I’ve covered how Cabarrus Taxpayers Association-backed candidates added $110 million to the Cabarrus County public debt without going to the voters. Also, how their error-ridden, misleading campaigns have obscured many of the facts of the challenges facing this community. They’ve managed to run this county for five years with no clear fiscal plan, no plan for controlling growth, and little appreciation for dissenting opinions. All that has been covered; but when I read Harold Smith’s latest post - I had an epiphany that I feel I should share with you: We’ve always had the money to build whatever we wanted. Yes, we can borrow to our hearts’ delight. Coy Privette and his CTA acolytes are wholly blameless. One catch: the money is in our children’s pockets.
If today’s debt is tomorrow’s taxes than I’ve had my property taxes jacked up more in the past five years than at any other point in my life. This might seem like a strange way of looking at it; but it’s not too strange for me - I’m 27. I’ve been paying property taxes on my first home for about 2 years now, and if the actuarial tables hold - I’ve got another 50 years of taxpaying ahead of me. I believe that gives me the right to ask the reader to momentarily suspend assumptions about youthful naivete and overlook my “lack of experience”; because I’m probably going to be getting a tax bill when most people alive in the county today are worm food.
Keeping all that in mind, I’d like you to join me in a little exercise. Many of us had to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution when we were in school. The Preamble enumerates the various purposes behind the Constitution. The final purpose stated is to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”. Keep that idea in mind. Now re-read the text of the Harold Smith post.
- Does he seem to care that a each percent of interest on $200 million in debt translates to $2 million a year in added expenses?
- Do his machinations about how much money the county needs next month appear to be a product of a well-reasoned vision of the future of this community?
- Do the hyperbolic musings about the latest seating arrangement in the meeting room bear an appreciation of the long-term consequences of decisions made in that same room?
For 20 years starting in 1982, I walked the halls of many a public school (and, yes, briefly a private one) and very rarely was I older than the buildings I studied in. I benefited from the foresightedness of the communities and the largesse of their citizens in many ways. One example that stands out - I went to Concord High and sat in some of the same rooms that my teachers sat in when they were in that same High School. Even when this community wasn’t as affluent as it is today, the citizens made the sacrifices necessary to insure that their children had opportunities to beyond those of their predecessors.
Even though I’m not crazy about debt and I’m certainly no fan of tax hikes, I supported the school bond (along with most of the voters in the 2004 election) and even worked on the campaign; because I believed that we needed to do it for our future. That belief in the future of this community is also why I type into the ether with this blog; because those who would jeopardize it for their own political gain must be challenged.
While it is sometimes treated with little interest, capital funding for public projects is in it’s own way a statement of our commitment to future generations. Saddling the next generation with hundreds of millions of dollars of debt in order to barely meet the current infrastructure needs sends the message that we really enjoyed our low taxes. Balancing our budgets, controlling growth, and efficiently preparing for the future sends the message that our future is precious. Even in Scripture one’s heart can be determined by where his treasure is placed.
That last statement from the Preamble also establishes a sacred trust between us, those who came before us, and those who will follow. The treasure we share today came about by wise stewardship of those who proceeded us; our liberty was secured by the selfless service and sacrifice of millions of men and women; and we presently join into a on-going legacy of opportunity which is the envy of the world. The blessings of that trust should not be squandered in ignorance for a small, immediate, and fleeting gain; but that treasure should be increased by shrewd management and guarded with fierce scrutiny by all citizens. Future generations should share in this trust, and not be overly burdened with the debt so that a selfish few could claim that they once held power.
The bottom line is this - keep that trust in mind when you are choosing leaders. If you choose to support people who can’t look beyond the end of this year, then you are mortgaging the future for a few cents on the $100 today for the dollars of others later. If you choose to support people who plan for the future, then you are “securing the Blessings of Liberty” for yourselves and your children.
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