The Sound Guy
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Posts posted by The Sound Guy
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“We had lightning damage to our home,” Braddock said Thursday. “The company didn’t want to pay the claim. They contended the receipts weren’t valid. Basically, it was a trumped-up charge.”
Which begs the question, why, then did Ms. Braddock forge the receipts? As awful as it was for her home to be subjected to lightning damage, that should not necessitate committing a felony!
First a disclaimer:
I do not live in the 19th, so I won't be voting in this race. But as one who lives in Paulding, I have an interest in those that will be representing our interests as a county as a whole and who's votes will affect the county as well as the state as a whole.
Maybe it's just me, but to me the above quote from the article seems to boil down to "I'll do anything I want to get what *I* think *I* deserve and anyone who thinks differently is wrong!". She felt she deserved payment for the damage of a certain amount and the company was questioning it. Even in her own words they "didn't want to pay the claim", not "would not pay it". So rather than work legally, she went the forgery route and then calls it a "trumped-up charge"? How is that trumped-up if she indeed faked a receipt for personal gain?
The attitude that the above quote shows scares me in a political leader, Democrat or Republican. No remorse shown at all, she's still trying to justify breaking the law even as running for public office. We all make stupid mistakes when angry, but I would expect some remorse and acceptance that it was wrong. I'm not seeing any here.
With that type of personality, it makes me want to ask: I wonder what she thinks she would *deserve* from being the 19th's representative? What will she do with that office if she gets it? Will she use that office for Paulding's good, or just to attack those that get in the way of what she wants with no remorse?
The definition of a public official used to be a "Public Servant". The attitude above doesn't seem to fit the ideal "Public Servant" at least in MHO.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
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It'll be ok...I voted for a Democrat one time, and I didn't fall over dead.
(Actually, I think I've voted for two or three, but the last one I remember was our beloved Sen. Zell Miller. What a great guy.)My dad has been a die-hard Republican, with one exception... he used to vote each election in the Democratic Primary if Larry McDonald had an opponent just so he could vote him in the general election for years until the Russians shot down the airliner that Larry was in.
Larry was a super conservative Democrat if there ever was one.
During his tenure in office, Congressman McDonald always scored a solid 100 percent in “The Conservative Index,” then published in The Review Of The News (the predecessor to The New American). McDonald also scored a 100 percent rating from Americans for Conservative Action and 100 percent “rating from the National Conservative Political Action Committee’s (NCPAC) “Conservative Index.”When voting on an issue he always asked himself the following three questions:(1) Is it Constitutional?
(2) Do we need it?
(3) Can we afford it?
Given these strict standards, it should come as no surprise that he voted “No” a great many times. At the 50th Anniversary celebration of The John Birch Society, Congressman Ron Paul stated that there have been two “Dr. No’s” in the House, referring to himself and to his dear friend Larry McDonald. Both Dr. McDonald and Dr. Paul, cast the only "No" votes for the Swine Flu Vaccination Program of 1976, signed by President Gerald Ford. It was later revealed that the vaccinations resulted in 500 cases of Guillain–Barré syndrome and 25 deaths.
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Am I reading the chart correctly that people with children will see a larger tax increase than people without?
Yes, one of the big hits is that the Child Tax Credit, that started at $250 a child and was grown to $1000 a child, will go back to $500 in 2011.
So if you have 2 kids under 16, you taxes will go up 2x$500 or $1000 a year. If you have 3 kids under 16, make that $1500 a year.
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I read this and found it interesting. They have an estimate of how much our withholding will jump on the first check in January 2011 if Congress and the President let the tax cuts expire. They also note that we could end up paying extra for a month or so in 2011 because of the time it takes to get the tax tables updated and entered into the various payroll systems even if the extension is passed, but not until Nov 15th or later.
I dunno about the rest of you, but even saving $300 or so in county taxes a year is chicken feed compared to an increase of $200-$300 a month in federal taxes. There is not that much "fat" in my budget, danged if I know what I'd cut to try to make up for it.
Just make sure you are ready.
PS. I didn't put this in the political forum because this increase will hit all of us, and I wasn't aware of just how big a hit they were talking about. I'd rather this stay non-political, but if it doesn't, Mods, feel free to move.
Lack of congressional action on 2011 income taxes may force the Treasury Department to make unprecedented moves to prevent U.S. workers from seeing large tax increases in their January paychecks.The issue: 2011 tax-withholding tables. Treasury officials usually release the tables, which determine the take-home pay of millions of wage-earners, by mid-November because it takes payroll processors weeks to adjust their systems before Jan. 1. But congressional leaders recently postponed voting on taxes until after the election and lawmakers don't reconvene until Nov. 15. The Senate is scheduled to take up several nontax issues when it returns and is expected to leave for Thanksgiving soon after, possibly pushing a vote on taxes into December.
"Things get very dicey after the first of December" because of employers' need to know the 2011 rates, said Michael Graetz of Columbia University Law School, a former Treasury official.
What your hit could be (per month):
Treasury officials' most obvious option is the least attractive. If they publish tables based on expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which occurs Jan. 1, millions of low- and middle-income taxpayers who have paid little or no income taxes for a decade would likely see increases in January. Prof. Graetz estimates that higher withholding could take up to $10 billion a month out workers' pockets due to higher tax rates alone. Other benefits also are expiring.Hmmm... Take 10 billion out of the economy, that will help stop this recovery.
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The board members are elected, they in turn pick the super. When I first got on the board the super was elected. I sure was glad when it was changed. When the super was elected anyone could run even if the had no background in education or business. I hate to say this but running our school system is running a very large business.
Wow, I can imagine what a mess we would have been in with an elected Super. I agree, the PC School system is a HUGE business with 30+ locations and a huge budget. Not something for an amateur to run.
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The wording is due to legal regulations and if you have specific questions please address them to our school district lawyer, superintendent, and if more comfortable, your board members. Please remember that as a board member, I can not suggest how one should vote. I do however want everyone to ask questions and educate himself/herself and express the decision at the ballot box. <Snip>
The BOE did not increase the mileage rate this year even with all the cuts we have experienced in education.
Hi Kim -
Yes, many of us noticed that you didn't raise the rate and appreciate it, though I myself would have understood if felt you had to.
I also realize that you cannot come out and directly support voting for or against SPLOST. I also understand that some words have specific legal meaning and have to be used to describe the legal limits on the vote..
Unfortunately, most of us are NOT lawyers and the wording of the $35 million section (below) is confusing and that makes it bothersome to me. I hope I have not come across as attacking with this thread, I have not meant to be, but I fail to see how explaining in layman's terms what the legalese means could be considered campaigning one way or the other, it's just information. Unfortunately, for this board, much like past boards, getting information out to the public is a lost art.
(i) financing capital outlays for the maintenance, renovation,completion, construction and expansion of new and existing school facilities, and (ii) acquiring any property necessary or desirable therefore, both real and personal, the maximum cost of such projects not to exceed $35,462,750.50?"
Let's face it, if the Board can't tell us what the heck it means when they voted to put it on the ballot, then I'm really worried and will definitely be voting no!
As far as contacting people at the board, it's kinda hard to do since they took off all the email addresses for anyone from the web site. All is there is an address and the phone number.
Now, really, do you *really* want 10,000 people trying to call and asking for the county lawyer and using 20 minutes of his/her time each to explain the meaning of the above? *THAT* would be a MAJOR waste of Taxpayer money!! Why not just have the lawyer write up a real world explanation once and put it on the BOE site if this one is too politically charged?
Based on most of it, I want to vote for this, but I will NOT support another vague blank check. Show me this isn't one, and I can make my decision.
Thanks,
SG
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As far as buildings, I don't think we will need anymore buildings for a while.
Actually they are expanding at several schools this year to try to keep up. McClure had several classrooms added last year and a new wing is being added to North and PCHS is finishing up the Science/Admin building.
I talked with a county official about a year ago and was told there is still building going on in the county, it's just it's the little 150K homes that have just as many kids, but don't generate near enough tax money that are getting built.
Look at the enrollment numbers in the BOE budget presentation, they are not going down.
I don't have a problem with the SPLOST for certain projects, I *am* gun-shy about blank checks.
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Kim I think what everybody is concerned about is the lack of specificity in what the money would go to. I know that five years out can cause some minor changes in plans, but after the Gym and Office debacle, folks are understandably a bit gun shy. The way it is written, it appears that all monies not going to past general obligation bonds could be used to purchase property with not even one dime going to actual capital improvements. I understand that property is cheap right now, but JMHO, we should use the lull in residential construction to get rid of trailers at existing schools first.
I don't know if you can speak to what if any properties are being looked at and what if any capital projects will be first in line, but that is the kind of information that can sell the tax. Folks are tired of just signing blank checks in Paulding, and admittedly not all of that is the Board's fault.
In my case, it's more of an issue with the "personal" and "desirable" adjectives being thrown in there. I'm pretty sure there are legal reasons they are there, but dang, this sounds like a license to buy just about anything the board wanted.
Check it out with the BOE lawyer if you must, but can you not get a legal explanation of why those terms are in there and what it means in "real world" speak instead of legalese?
Thanks,
SG
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Just wanted to point out that the Tea Party movement is NOT strictly Republican. It is a grassroots, conservative movement of citizens who got fed up with steps our federal government was taking. It is closed to no one. There are many factions, even within a state.
+1
I would add it is also often people that are fed up with "government as usual" by any political group.
In some cases that means voting for nutcases instead of the "establishment" candidate.
In NH, that will cost the Repubs the seat, but if they don't get the message, it will cost them a lot more.
IMHO.
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The bond payments are to be made with the proceeds each year and if there are funds collected in excess of that it can be used to help with maintaining the facilities or purchasing land while values are low. It is to relieve the general fund and no new bonds planned to be sold.
Thanks Kim - that part I got and think are great ideas.
It's the vague part at the end that we're concerned about.
Thanks,
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OK, did a quick search and didn't see any comments on the School SPLOST on the ballot, so thought I'd start one.
Kim Cobb - I know you are limited in what you can say publicly on this issue, but if you can explain some of the obscure legalese, I'd appreciate it.
It may be the only way you'll get a "YES" vote from me on it.Here is the text off the ballot from the Ga Sec of State office for my address:
Referendum Approval on the Renewal of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax(SPLOST). For the purpose of Bonded Debt Reduction and other Educational Purposes.
(Vote for One)
"Shall a special one percent sales and use tax for educational purposes continue to be imposed in Paulding County for a period of time not to exceed 20 calendar quarters, commencing upon the expiration of the existing special one percent sales and use tax, and for the raising of not more than $90,000,000 for the purpose of ( a ) paying a portion of the principal and interest on the Paulding County School District's outstanding General Obligation Bonds, Series 2003, Series 2007 and Series 2008, coming due February 1, 2012 through and including August 1, 2016, in the maximum amount of $54,537,249.50, and (
(i) financing capital outlays for the maintenance, renovation,completion, construction and expansion of new and existing school facilities, and (ii) acquiring any property necessary or desirable therefore, both real and personal, the maximum cost of such projects not to exceed $35,462,750.50?"
Interesting.... lets look at the purposes...
a ) ( a ) paying a portion of the principal and interest on the Paulding County School District's outstanding General Obligation Bonds, Series 2003, Series 2007 and Series 2008, coming due February 1, 2012 through and including August 1, 2016, in the maximum amount of $54,537,249.50...Wow, down to the last 50 cents...
I actually like this idea, pay off the existing bonds quicker, reduce the bond millage rate. Then:
( B )( i ) financing capital outlays for the maintenance, renovation,completion, construction and expansion of new and existing school facilities,
Ok, I guess this would be used to delay having to sell the second half of the 120 million in approved bonds. Since that sale would jump the bond millage rate, I'm all for delaying it as much as possible.
But then they had to go and add this:
and (ii) acquiring any property necessary or desirable therefore, both real and personal, the maximum cost of such projects not to exceed $35,462,750.50?"Say what?
No breakdown between building on the schools and this "acquiring of desirable personal property" So the entire $35 million can go for "acquiring of desirable personal property?" What the heck is "desirable personal property"?
The least they could have done is split this out that $25 million was going to school facilities and only $10 million to this "acquiring of desirable personal property?", but no, they lump it all together.
Sorry, this sounds a lot like a slush fund and like the state amendments, I tend to vote against anything that writes a $35 million blank check.
Kim, you and the board better have a written down explanation of just what the heck you expect to do this $35 million or you are getting a big "NO" vote from me on this.
SG
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God I miss Karen. I swear I'm going to write her in.
I like the idea!!
I wonder if she could run that way?
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And having debt kind of makes you human. You know the costs of operating a business sometimes cost more than you make.
It's not like he had income that he isn't reporting. Dang, it's debt, he's one of us.
He's not one of me, if I even tried to get a two million dollar loan they'd laugh me all the way out of the banks. Sounds like Deal and Roy are both "Fat Cats".
Better still, I wonder what kind of person it takes to not only to *forget* your business owes 2 million to someone, you don't bother having your accountant look over the disclosure before you file it.
Something ain't quite right here....
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Just my two cents (and almost worth it
I have no problem with increasing the fees for services provided by the state to a reasonable amount.
My complaint was the $30 a year 'fee' tacked onto the special car tags. The initial fee to cover production of the tag is reasonable, a yearly gouge fee to allow you to keep it is not.
Don't forget that because it's a 'fee' in theory in exchange for a service, it is not tax deductible, so you will pay 6% Georgia income tax on that money as well as Federal tax at your normal level.
I'll be turning my tag in next year along with lots of other people I bet.
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It must have been his twin that was escorting Paulette around the other day.
And his twin that was out at the polling places after the primary collecting vote totals...
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Mrs Surepip and I will be there. I am bringing Cole Slaw and my world famous Brunswick Stew.
What about those that don't live in the 19th, but just want to taste your Stew?
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Son had a run in with the the neighbor's fence. He got it from Home Depot but they don't sell it any more.
Anyone know a local company that might have a a couple of pieces on their lot? 2"x6"x16'
Thanks
SG
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Contrary to your assertion, Republicans have been offering a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution on a regular basis since 1980 when Ronald Reagan became President, largely because of the deficit spending of the Carter Administration.
Ok, so you are saying that Republicans have such low self control that unless forced to balance the budget, they will spend like drunken sailors?
Oh boy, that's a ringing endorsement for the party... NOT!
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All I'm asking is that we call a spade a spade. Yes overall, for the majority, taxes went down. But there's no need for "atta boys" to the BOC because they had nothing to do with the decrease. It decreased because the economy over the country went bust. It had the potential to decrease even more, but the BOC choose to vote in a small millage rate increase. Were they securing our future and looking out for our best interests in doing so? Let's just take the high road for now and assume they were. So far, I don't have a history that would tell me otherwise.
Well, if we want to call a spade a spade, then we'd all have to agree that the *BOE* needs the big bow, they are close to 2/3s of our tax bill and they kept the rate the same (pretty much had to, they could not raise it past 21 mils anyway) and that produces most of the savings.
But I have to say that the argument that a decrease in value means that net taxes should go down is just not correct. The very people complaining about the rate change being approved before the budget prove it. The budget comes first because it controls the amount of taxes that the people of this county will pay. Pure and simple/chicken and egg.
The choice was made many years ago that people should pay a percentage of the county budgets based on the value of property that they own. You own more, you pay more. The "tax rates" are just ratios of property value to budget to ensure that the taxes collected are enough to pay for the budget proposed. If the budget remains the same, then the county as a whole must pay the same taxes no matter what happens to the values, just the tax ratio changes to make up for the changes in value.
If someone pays more in taxes this year than last, then one of two things happened: 1) The budget is larger than last year, therefore your part is higher or 2) You are paying a larger percentage of the budget than last year.
So, in this case, I'm paying approx $500 less this year than last year. I've had a tax cut because the budgets were reduced so that the rates did not have to be raised enough to make up for the property value loss I had.
Just for fun, (well, not really), I looked up my old tax bills and on the Ga tax site where I couldn't find the bill to see the rates since I bought here in 1997:
Tax Year------------ 1997- 1998- 1999- 2000- 2001- 2002- 2003- 2004- 2005- 2006- 2007- 2008- 2009- 2010
State--------------- 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25 00.25
County(Budget)------ 13.23 13.23 --.-- --.-- 10.83 --.-- --.-- 09.89 09.78 09.90 09.77 09.59 09.73 --.--
County(net)--------- 08.35 08.35 06.99 06.75 06.70 06.50 06.50 06.50 06.50 06.80 06.50 06.50 06.65 07.60
School M&O --------- 17.70 17.70 16.10 16.40 18.90 17.29 16.41 16.41 16.41 16.41 18.91 18.91 18.91 18.91
School Bond -------- 04.20 04.20 02.70 02.40 01.40 01.18 01.12 01.12 01.12 00.56 02.08 02.96 02.96 03.06*
County Bond -------- 00.45 00.45 00.65 00.65 00.65 00.60 00.60 00.60 00.50 00.20 00.50 00.50 01.60 01.87
Fire Tax ----------- -N/A- -N/A- -N/A- -N/A- -N/A- -N/A- -N/A- 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00
LOST Credit (Mils)-- 04.88 04.88 --.-- --.-- 04.13 --.-- --.-- 03.39 03.28 03.10 03.27 03.09 03.08 --.--
* - School bond rate calculated from current year bill and is not official.
The --.-- are years I couldn't find my tax bill for and had to get the info from the Ga site and it was incomplete.
Interesting, the County budget rate is still .75 mils less than it was in 1997/1998. Anybody want to claim their property is worth less now than 1997? What really gets me is that my house went up in value around 35% between 2001 and 2008 (the year it peaked). The tax rate however only went down approx 3 percent. Sounds like one heck of a tax increase to me, my county tax payment $$$ went up %30 in that time period. THAT is the tax increase we are complaining about in the Jerry years. (plus the 2 mils of the fire budget he kept).
Also notice that the State of Georgia quietly left their rate at 0.25 mils the entire time values were going up, reaping a windfall across the state as those values doubled and tripled over the 10 year period. But those Democrats and Republicans in the State Government managed to spend it somehow... it was hard work, but they pulled it off.
No, Austin has been given a bad hand, much like Obama was, but Austin seems to be making the hard choices to keep us in good shape fiscally while looking to cut where they can unlike the other.
I like that.
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I just saved $2,500.00 and the county is able to maintain fire, police and other services. THANK YOU MR. AUSTIN and the rest of the BOC! Great job!
Here's part of my property tax bill for the last eight years. See if you can tell when Jerry was in office and you can see why think so little of him.
2003: $5,539.97
2004: $6,062.26
2005: $7,383.83
2006: $8,948.02
2007: $11,136.86
2008: $11,369.71
2009: $11,739.45
2010: $9,211.19
Oh yea! I especially like the big jump in 2007!! That 2 mil backdoor increase Jerry hit us with by dropping fire from the general budget was such a smooth move most people didn't feel the hand in their wallets.
Looks like the only increase you had in 2009 was the state $300 increase with the cancellation of the tax credit.
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This year's taxes are 15% more than they were in 2006 when my home reached the height of it's value.
Yea, but if you look, most of that increase is in 2007, the School Bond, Wildlife bond, and I think the fire tax hit that year too (Jerry's free 2 mil General fund increase)
You need to compare to 2007 after the new taxes were added.
Also you are paying $300 more a year last year and this year due to the state canceling the property tax credit, don't forget to add that to calculation.
Still have to see what millage rate for the bonds for the new government center Jerry built is.
The current BOC can't do anything about any of those costs.
There are too many pieces of the tax equations to be able to compare year to year without the details. Guess we'll have to wait on the written bill to that.
I don't know. How could you appeal if you did not know what it would be?
Assessments came out in June and had to appealed then I think.
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Thanks!!
Down over $500 this year, lowest it's been since the big jump in 2007. If the state had not jumped the state taxes by $300 last year we'd been down two years in a row!
On another note, I don't think I like the new on-line system as well as the old one, as I recall, the old system would let you see the individual charges for county, BOE, Bonds etc didn't it? I don't see any way to do that with this system. Has anyone been able to do that?
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Surepip - Where did you read that logic has anything to do with their arguments?
What I want to know is why if the GOP "leadership" thinks the county should be able to run off of the 2005 budget or so, where were they in 2005-2008 when Jerry was running up our taxes? Why were they not all over Jerry when he stole the 2 mil fire budget when he transferred the cost to the fire tax, but didn't reduce the tax rate in the general funds. Jerry should have dropped the general fund tax rate by that 2 mils but didn't, he just had a spending spree by the other departments with the money, running up the budgets all over the place and what did you hear? Not a peep out of the GOP "faithful" while that was going on.
Now they are coming out of the woodwork when all David is trying to do is fix all the debt that Jerry left us with.
Amazing how hypocritical they can be.
I was reading where Tea Party Republicans are doing quite well in the primaries. The GOP leadership has lost the pulse of the party. These Republican "Leaders" are a great example why.
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Hey Whitey -
Doesn't it make you wonder where all these Conservative Republicans who are all concerned about tax increases were last year when the Republican led state houses and Republican Governor didn't renew the state property tax break, raising collected taxes on every home in Ga?
Rather than kill the Bass Fishing support and other pork in the state budget, they cut education, and then raised state taxes by $300 on every home to fund their pork.
As I recall, Whitey was about the only one on here complaining about that tax increase the Republican state leadership gave us. Everyone else seem to blow it off. I guess everybody else was OK with it since it wasn't a rate increase.
You people amaze me.
So tell us, How are you going to vote
in Paulding County NEWS
Posted
It is in writing, in the SPLOST wording in the ballot. The first $50 something million will be used to make payments on the existing bond debt.
And in a way, you are correct, the bond payments will not change, just the SPLOST will be making them instead of the property owners for five years.
The way I read it, the bond payments are the primary use, so only if there is extra funding will that be available to the board. Now, granted, the wording of the second part is bothersome as it appears to be a blank check for just about anything, but unless the economy recovers a LOT in the next five years, I doubt there will much collected over the bond payments.