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Subject:Citizen Newsletter #271 From: Henry Citizen ([email protected]) To: [email protected]; Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:31:40

The Citizen Newsletter

Issue # 271
June 19, 2011 The Conservative Voice of Henry County
Contact The Citizen at [email protected] Your comments and submissions are always welcome!

In This Issue

Its too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet. It wont be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work. Thank goodness I wont live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to government.

News & Announcements T-SPLOST: A Huge Slush Fund More on T-SPLOST Addiction Henry BoE Wants New SPLOST

Your Voice
Goldman Cuts GDP to 2% Cherokee GOP News Stockbridge Charter Change

Worker share of national income plunges

http://www.presstv.com/usdetail/185092.html

Editorial / Publication Policy Available in HTML (original) or PDF format Send email to [email protected] The Citizen newsletter is available online at Scribd.com View online at

The latest economic news makes it all too clear who the winners are in the U.S. economy. Small businesses are struggling to expand, while the biggest companies are growing even bigger. And a smaller percentage of the nation's overall income is going to wage-earners. "Fully 87% of our CEOs anticipate higher sales," said Ivan Seidenberg, chairman of the Business Roundtable who also runs Verizon Communications. "As a result, more than half of our CEOs plan to increase both capital spending and U.S. hiring." Offsetting the rosy outlook of big business is the latest monthly survey from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a trade group consisting of small businesses across the United States. The NFIB May report says more small businesses plan to shrink their payrolls than those preparing to expand them. The number of small companies planning to expand hiring has been declining for months, with the previous low point coming last September. But the biggest downturn news for the American workforce applies to the share of national income controlled by non-agricultural employees. This sector's claim to the nation's earnings has been declining overall for two decades, with some increases here and there. But since 2001, non-farm labor's share has plunged straight down, according to the Federal Reserve of St. Louis.

http://www.scribd.com/larry_stanley

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else. It is because of you; a steady list of people who read and submit articles sharing ideas and principles.

Joke of the Day

Geologists Scour Nash Farm for Possible Artifacts With the amount of battle action that took place at the Nash Farm Battlefield back in August 1864
http://www.co.henry.ga.us/newsArticle.aspx?AID=848

Or visit www.hccitizen.org

When the Henry board of commissioners finally read the exhaustive history of the Battle of Lovejoys Station, this charade may end. The recurring search for artifacts breeds a false sense and rewriting of Confederate retreat from the Dorsey plantation.

McDonough Councilmember Wayne Smith will host a District 3 town hall meeting on Tuesday, June 21, from 6:30-8pm at Henry County High School. This activity is part of a series of district based gatherings throughout the year. The purpose will be to share information and receive feedback among citizens and elected officials. If you live or own a business in City of McDonough District 3, Mayor Copeland and Councilmember Smith encourage you to attend. They, too, would appreciate your sharing this information with family and friends in this area.
Mexico and 10 other countries have joined the legal fight against Georgia's tough new immigration law, warning that the strict crackdown could jeopardize close ties between the U.S. and its Latin American neighbors.

Tall fences make good neighbors

Thank you for your support and participation

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T-SPLOST: Another Tax, Another HUGE Slush Fund
By the way, for those keeping score at home: The proposed projects in todays news alone Reeds $6.9 billion list and MARTAs separate $4 billion-plus list exceed by more than one-third the expected proceeds of the sales tax over the entire, 10-county metro Atlanta region. Wish lists from Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and other counties will add billions and billions more in projects that cant be funded. Some voters may look at these long and expensive lists, compare them to the much shorter regionwide list that eventually emerges, and decide to vote for the tax because of the sheer number of projects out there. On the other hand, I wonder how many will make that comparison and be disappointed at how many projects there are that they would like to see in their area but that dont make the cut as so many projects inevitably will. GDOT website Investing In Tomorrow includes a Q & A: 1. What process will be used to determine order of projects being delivered?

Projects will be scheduled based on their shovel readiness. For example, projects that have environmental approval and completed right-of-way acquisition will be constructed before projects that are still undergoing engineering and environmental approval. This is the #1 problem with every SPLOST in Henry County. Costs, shovel-readiness, political timing, project manipulations.

Looking at Henrys top projects none of them will be done in the next ten years! Widen and pave GA Hwy 42 from border to border? Right of way acquisition will cost $Billions considering the businesses and homes along the path. And do not forget utility relocation costs for electric power lines, telephone lines, water and sewer lines. Nope. Not in ten years. Same problems exist for improving GA Hwy 155 from the Spalding County line into McDonough. Grand ideas with hidden costs that will delay or prohibit actual implementation. The T-SPLOST is another pipe dream being sold to voters as the great end to all transportation problems. It is just another batch of lies.

More on T-SPLOST
By Joan Scott Let me get this straight. Youre saying that either Henry County agrees to a tax increase or we get penalized by paying more for 10 years? Is that about right? When talking to Chairman Mathis I understood the penalty portion of the referendum to be applied to those counties that did not pass the legislation and it passed region wide. After further reading and getting the ducks in line that is not exactly correct. Here is the wording from the adopted legislation: (d) In the event a special district sales and use tax election is held and the voters in a special district do not approve the levy of the special district transportation sales and use tax, the local governments in such special district shall be required to provide a 30 percent match for any local maintenance and improvement grants by the Department of Transportation for transportation projects and programs for at least 24 months and until such time as a special district sales and use tax is approved. In the event the voters in a special district approve the levy of the special district transportation sales and use tax, the local governments in such special district shall be required to provide a 10 percent match for any local maintenance and improvement grants by the Department of Transportation for transportation projects and programs for the duration of the levy of the special district transportation sales and use tax. The penalty phase is at least 24 months or until such time as a special district sales and use tax is approved. Henry also would not be penalized if the voters here turned it down at the ballot and it passed region wise. That information obtained earlier was incorrect. The entire metro 10 county region (special district) would have to vote down the TSPLOST and then all ten counties would be penalized with a 30% match for at least 24 months. As I was told no single county is penalized for voting no as long as it passes the region. The converse is also true: If Henry votes yes but it fails to pass the region, then all 10 counties will be subject to the 30% matching requirement.

Translation by The Citizen

The wording says a 24-month penalty AND until such time as a special district sales and use tax is approved. And the 30% matching requirement (penalty) applies to grants requested and received by said county and granted by the Georgia DOT. So, the penalty applies if and only if state DOT funds are requested. There is no penalty otherwise. It is time to recall John Galt and tell them all to kiss off for such extortion. What percentage of our state income and ad valorem taxes fund the DOT? What percentage should we expect to get back without an extorted penalty?

Addiction
As we go through life, the mundane and tedious tasks as well as all the good and wonderful aspects, some things never seem to change. No matter what circumstances arise there are people whose addictions control everything they do.

Like a bodys dependence on drugs or alcohol or nicotine too many people are dependent upon a weakness they have learned and are unable to overcome. The nations economy is teetering on the brink. For many people fear of the worst happening guides investment, job security and spending trends. For others the calamity provides opportunity for feeding an addiction. At the state and local levels governing authorities are grasping at every form of taxation imaginable.

Maintain revenue levels. Protect political agendas. Feed the beast. All the while the same people who must provide the funding are losing jobs, losing value of home assets and even facing inability to feed their families. Every person and family must take care of housing, food, clothing, transportation. Every person must accept responsibility to stop spending on anything and everything that is not truly essential. Life styles change and not for the better. Amenities once thought normal become luxuries. It is simple fact. Every individual is faced with hard and life changing decisions. It is insane for people to vote approval for extending or increasing taxation that can be stopped. Citizens can control the amounts of money governments spend and the things it is spent on. Government is not an unknown and uncontrollable thing. Decisions are made by people. Unfortunately those people we elected to serve us cannot overcome the addiction to our money. They cannot stop spending our money; acting as if they are entrusted and entitled to cut a little and spend a lot. That is why the school board in 2010 asked a $286 Million bond referendum. And in 2011 will ask for another 5-year extension of Ed-SPLOST. Because of borrowing against hoped-for income we have the school boards bond debt to repay. Think about why the Henry BoE raised the bond millage rate last year from 3.06 to 3.628, an increase of 18.5% on this portion of your tax bill. The board is already at 20 mils on property tax. Bonded debt is the back door method of raising money using future revenue and taxing authority as collateral. Again, people make these decisions based on presumed entitlement and legal authority to take our money. That is why Henry County government has a $113 Million budget for 2011-2012. It is tough times when fifty-seven people are put out of work, but the decision makers did not stop all non-essential expenditures. The County has not sold assets or terminated a tax-funded bus service. There are some things they must do to satisfy their own agendas and special constituents. Our state and county governments are conspiring to get voter approval for a 10-year transportation tax called T-SPLOST. It is a one cent sales tax to be added to the already high 7% sales tax Henry countians pay. Every year we read reports of waste and political graft in the Georgia Department of Transportation. Somehow we are to believe that a Round Table of addicts will act differently with a few $Billion more dollars to spend?? We have a long history of SPLOST taxes and unkept promises. Why should be think this would be different? Rehabilitation is difficult. Withdrawal from Other Peoples Money will be painful. But it is the only cure. And we, the voters, are the only doctors who can deliver the treatment.

Henry BoE Seeks New Ed-SPLOST

From the Hack Line One cannot blame the BOE for having to raise the rate; they have to be able to pay for the indebtedness. Thus the ED SPLOST is a better way to go. It also captures sales tax of the older property owners who are exempt from portions of the school taxes. These penny sales taxes are consumption based and are much better than having the burden laid upon the property owner alone. The atmosphere on tax increases and high taxes has not gone away and with other tax levies in the works like the TSPLOST penny something may not pass. However, SPLOST is competing against other proposed taxes for a piece of DeKalb residents dollars. DeKalb County is considering raising the property tax rate. In 2012, voters in the whole metro area will vote on a regional penny sales tax to fund transportation projects. Somethings got to give. It cant all happen, warned central DeKalb School Board member Don McChesney. ~Reporter Newspapers OK, enough about the ups and downs. Lets look at the real issue behind another 5-year, $225 million TAX. The referendum asks voters to approve SPLOST IV collections for up to $225 million over a five-year span, beginning in January 2013, in order to help fund several capital improvement projects. If voters elect to approve the SPLOST IV referendum on Nov. 8, the school system will then be able to move forward with planning and construction of Hampton High School, as well as with other capital projects, such as building repairs and technology needs, on an earlier time schedule than if such a referendum were approved at a later date, said Ethan Hildreth, Henrys school superintendent. This would permit more timely response to existing needs across the system. ~~ Henry Daily Herald Jeff Allie, Henrys assistant superintendent of financial services, said any additional funds collected

over the five-year span of SPLOST IV, if it is approved, would go toward the renovation and repair of the Performing Arts Center, the Administrative Annex facility, and the school systems 40 other existing schools. By law, SPLOST funds can be used only for certain capital projects that support local schools. Such funds cannot be used for the day-to-day operational expenses, such as teacher salaries and instructional materials. The Citizen agrees that the Henry school system has always and consistently used the penny sales tax exactly as they said they would. No slight of hand; no shifting of budgets or priorities. Although extending the sales tax will add to the burdens we already face and some new ones if voters are sucked into approving another penny for transportation we must support this revenue stream for Henry County Schools.

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YOUR VOICE
I noticed how the city of McDonough has taken a "grant" from the ARC in order to put on a program for the residents of McDonough to give input on how the city should "look" and I just thought it was odd that McDonough and Henry County would want to take anything or advice from Atlanta and Fulton County. www.ProvisionProperties.com Also noticed the article about the BoE now adjusting the furlough days now that the "state" has given the funding but it will cut into the "reserve" the BoE has......... I wish that I had a reserve to cut into......These idiots that are ruining Henry County depleted those reserves a long time ago. And I just found out a piece of info regarding a house in Eagles Landing that the Hospital , according to my information, purchased for 859,000.00 for the hospital administrator and that same house was purchased in foreclosure by the relative of a personal friend just last year for 359,000.00......so much for ethics by the hospital...... somebody took a 500K bath. Don Network SBN TV Were all about you! http://sbn.tv/

Cemetery Research Group

www.crghenry.org

Signature Broadcasting

It is sometimes tough now being the old folks we once took for granted. If we had only known the impact we as young people had on our parents, grandparents and others who accepted our lack of understanding with unconditional love.

McDonough Arts 2011 events For more info contact: Debbie Withers 678/522-4020 or [email protected]

http://www.mcdonougharts.net

Jackson-based McIntosh State Bank fails

Opening as Hamilton State Bank of Saturday McIntosh State Bank, of Jackson, was shut down Friday afternoon by state regulators, and its deposits were turned over to a Hoschton, Ga. bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., announced.

I find it amazing that it is legal for a woman to go topless anywhere a man can in Washington, DC, but a woman can't even breast feed her child in Forest Park without harassment.

Re: Putting a Face on County Budget Cuts Henry Countys Life Management Department De-Funded Response in Henry Daily Herald: This was a religion based program run by unqualified people making decisions that ruined far more lives than those the "saved". No one in the group had the educational qualifications to make the decisions they handed down on a weekly basis to families in need. Anyone can go to church and "get religion". We see it in our Courts everyday when someone faces jail. REAL professional counselors can help people find the cause of problems instead of a quick fix. Thank you a thousand times to whomever voted to end this farce counseling center.

299 Jonesboro Road McDonough, GA 30253 (770) 954-9999 Fax: (770) 954-0182

Romney Rejects Pro-Life Pledge Former Massachusetts Gov. and current GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney is refusing to sign a pledge penned by the pro-life group 'The Susan B. Anthony List.' The pledge calls for the nomination of judges "who are committed to restraint and applying the original meaning of the Constitution, not legislating from the bench." It also demands the selection of pro-life appointees for cabinet positions and the advancement of "pro-life legislation to permanently end all taxpayer funding of abortion," as well as the defunding of Planned Parenthood.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- President Barack Obama may have been in Puerto Rico for only four hours, but his brief fundraising visit has unleashed a growing political furor in this U.S. Caribbean territory. Legislators of Puerto Rico's pro-statehood ruling party say they are resentful that he swooped in to raise about $1 million and did not offer any help or solutions as the island battles a soaring crime rate and higher unemployment compared with any U.S. state.

Goldman Cuts GDP View to 2% as Economy Weakens

Goldman Sachs has slashed its forecast for gross domestic product. The firm cut its second-quarter GDP outlook to 2 percent from 3 percent, a stunning blow for AN ECONOMY EXPECTED TO BE WELL ON THE PATH TO RECOVERY following the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. From a policy standpoint, Goldman said it does not expect the subpar growth to change the Federal Reserve's plans to end quantitative easing later this month. However, Goldman economist Sven Jari Stehn acknowledged that "the deterioration in economic activity, on its own, would call for fresh monetary easing." The primary thing keeping the Fed from going to another round of easing or QE3 in market jargon is that, while the economy languishes, inflation actually is rising more than expected, he said.

"The Federal Open Market Committee is therefore stuck between a rock (slow growth) and a hard place (higher inflation)," Stehn wrote in a research note to clients. "We expect Chairman (Ben) Bernanke to indicate at next Wednesdays FOMC press conference that there is little prospect of either monetary tightening or monetary easing anytime soon." Goldman's move comes amid a week of disappointing manufacturing indicators from both the Philadelphia and New York Feds that compounded market fears over debt contagion from Greece and other peripheral eurozone nations. The International Monetary Fund also has reduced its GDP forecast from the US, cutting its view to 2.5 percent. On the bright side, Stehn wrote that the firm still expects economic activity and GDP to pick up later in the year, though the bar has been raised. "At this point, we still expect a bounceback in Q3 and beyond, but will need to see significant improvement in the data over the next few weeks to maintain that view," he said. From the Fed's perspective, Stehn said the central bank remains within a "zone of inaction" that requires negative real interest rates in this case about negative-0.6 percent when comparing inflation to interest until a more robust recovery can be declared. More Fed easing, or QE3, would come only if unemployment increases 1.25 percentage points from its current 9.1 percent, while inflation also would have to ease and drop 1 percentage point from its current 3.6 percent annualized rate. The Fed's easy money policies, which have pushed its balance sheet past the $2.5 trillion mark, are cited by some economists as a key factor in the current rise in inflation. But for Bernanke, explaining Fed policy, which he will do following next week's Open Market Committee meeting, has become even trickier. "Most likely, he will be 'balanced' by emphasizing both the disappointment in the activity indicators and the higher inflation data," Stehn said. "So the press conference is unlikely to be pleasant for either the chairman or his audience."

CCRP Monthly Breakfast at Bogeys on June 25, 2011 Join us for our upcoming monthly breakfast at Bogey's located at 1085 Buckhead Crossing, Woodstock, GA 30189 This months speaker is Rep. Sean Jerguson, Chairman of the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/58156360/Republicans-for-Pork

Save the Date! July 23rd in lieu of a Breakfast we are having a Cookout on the Lake. Republicans for Pork Saturday, July 23

4:00 PM 8:00 PM

Sweetwater Creek Lake Allatoona

Advance Tickets $10 per person Tickets Day of Event $15 per person Children 8 & under Free Hot Dog Meal

Stockbridge Council revisiting charter-change issue

By Jason A. Smith [email protected] The Stockbridge City Council voted unanimously Monday, to approve an ordinance changing the city charter regarding the delegation of powers for Mayor Lee Stuart. It was the first of two votes which must be take place on the issue. A final vote will come July 11. Richard Steinberg, of the Concerned Citizens of Stockbridge group, said the council appears hell-bent on changing the city charter and the powers of the mayor. He agreed with Rep. Davis, describing the city charter as a dead issue. He said the council has not responded to pleas from residents, to keep the city charter as it is. [Residents] want the right to vote on any such change, should one be coming, rather than having it mandated by the city council, Steinberg said. Earlier this year, [the city council] asked the countys legislative delegation to the Georgia General Assembly to seek a change in the citys form of government, to allow for a city administrator. The governing body also asked legislative approval for the change in how the city is governed, which will more clearly define the duties of the mayor, and other city administrators. The request to hire a city administrator, as well as changing the citys governance structure from that of strong mayor, to one featuring a city administrator, comes in the wake of a dispute between Stuart and the city council over his governance. The disagreement led to the mayor filing a lawsuit, last year, regarding his veto power. Andy Welch, a partner at the Smith Welch Webb & White law firm, which represents the city, said Stockbridge leaders are proposing to amend three provisions of the citys charter, regarding Stockbridges powers granted through practice of home rule. The three amendments under consideration would clarify the powers of the mayor in relation to the city administrator, a position that will report to the mayor, as well as the mayors veto powers, Welch said. The amendments do not change the form or composition of the Citys government. The mayor remains the CEO of the city. The proposed new ordinance is exactly the same as the one originally voted on by the State Senate, said Stockbridge Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Gilbert. It should be noted that Andy Welch is also an elected member of the Georgia Senate representing Henry County. He has interests in both the impartial role of legislative action and the law firm representing the City of Stockbridge. ~~ The Citizen It was totally rewritten when it went through the House of Representatives, Gilbert said. It bore no resemblance to the legislation that was presented to the senate. It was unprecedented that local legislation would be totally rewritten. State Rep. Steve Davis (R-McDonough) acknowledged he attached language to the bill, regarding district voting, and distributed it at a town-hall meeting in March. I thought what we had proposed was fair. It died because we couldnt come to an agreement, said Davis. In April, the state legislature voted down a measure to change the citys charter, dubbed Senate Bill 189, during the final days of a legislative session. There was overwhelming opposition to making these changes without any input, or at least a referendum, Davis said in April. Now, with the proposed ordinance, Davis wrote the council complaining that its ability to make administrative, local charter changes, does not include changing the citys form of government, or eroding the powers of the mayor. He went on the say in his letter: The Municipal Home Rule Act of 1965 ... expressly does not extend to action affecting the composition and form of the municipal governing authority [and] ... any attempt

to change the executive powers, including the veto powers, of the mayor ... will be considered as a substantial change to the form of government, and therefore would be unconstitutional. The proposed ordinance has stirred concerns among some local residents. Marilyn Flynn complained that residents have not been adequately informed about their local government. To me, its just a conflict between the council and the mayor. They sent it to the legislature, it didnt pass, and now theyve come up with another way to push it through, the 20-year resident said. Stockbridge resident George Espada, said he is concerned the law firm representing the city has provided no written analysis, or legal opinion, regarding the proposed charter ordinance. Its unacceptable and unprofessional to push this legal issue through City Council, and force an issue that has been already discussed ... he said. Gordon Gilbert, husband of Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Gilbert, acknowledged the veil of secrecy and litigation that seems to be holding up communication to the public. No part of the matter of changing the City Charter should be hidden from the public. Assuming the authority to make such a change without a referendum of the voters is morally and ethically wrong. Communication to the public is a reversal of roles; it is the citizens of Stockbridge who hold legitimate authority and not individual council members desiring to control the mayor. ~~ The Citizen Richard Steinberg, of the Concerned Citizens of Stockbridge group, said the council appears hell-bent on changing the city charter and the powers of the mayor. He agreed with Rep. Davis, describing the city charter as a dead issue. He said the council has not responded to pleas from residents, to keep the city charter as it is. [Residents] want the right to vote on any such change, should one be coming, rather than having it mandated by the city council, Steinberg said.

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