Much cussed, discussed fire fees may die
Lamar County’s much cussed and discussed fire fees may be on the way out.
Comments
Fri, May 17, 2013 - 09:32 AM
Good choices, what is accurate, and what is best are often not related at all to pop [...]
Fri, May 17, 2013 - 09:18 AM
It will be difficult to get any government employee or official to consider science, [...]
Fri, May 17, 2013 - 04:25 AM
How horrible. And what seems worse is the fact that this is the first I have heard o [...]
Thu, May 16, 2013 - 10:56 PM
If they were qualified and there were open positions, then I am sure they would have [...]
Thu, May 16, 2013 - 08:52 PM
The noise from the plant can be heard in the Laurel Drive, Pine St, and Maple Dr are [...]
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I guess all the money they took in got them back in the green!!!!
I'm retired and just have S.S. and believe me it isn't much and could not afford this crap but I paid mine, are we gonna get it back or was that just a trick to help our town Gov. save their own ass' !!!!!
Would you please investigate and report what is being done to those who did not pay the fee. There is so much speculation about that, and it should be reported so those who did pay will know. Also, there was an additional fee for ambulance service. Is there discussion of eliminating that also, or just the fire fee?
May understanding was that the fee just paid was for 2010, so if eliminated for 2011 no refunds would be given.
Can you please find out for us?
Here is a hint for them. Operate with the funds they have allocated for the year. Don’t borrow money that the loan interest will subtract from next years funds. If extra money is needed for a project then let them get off their obvious high horse and take the need to the people. Let the people know in advance what the idea will do to next year’s budget and how it will affect the taxes. Keep the people in the loop. If the leadership screws up then slash their funds and pay; to zero if necessary. There should be consequences for inept leadership. Expect returns from the IDA to produce. Why dish out money to a nonproductive authority. Let the elected leadership represent the people rather than their own interest. Tell them to use some common sense and learn to get out and talk with all the people they suppose to represent and not just their friends and associates. In short, be a leader instead of a self appointed elitist. Develop a little vision and make an effort to plan for the future rather than assuming everything will stay the same.
My last 2 cents is to give everyone connected with justice the boot that thinks justice is a joke. One of our biggest problems with crime around here is that criminals are learning there is no punishment for crime in Lamar County.
Gary McCall
Again.
Don't cut Law enforcement and firefighters. This letter is to all town, city and state managers, governors, and lawmakers in our United States of America. Never cut law enforcement and firefighters census positions from your budgets. In the USA a national law should be passed by our Congress to make budget census for all police and fire department officers a priority, never to be adjusted downward. Where would the monies come from to support this national law? A special payroll tax titled “Public Safety Support.” Some would say “not another tax.” A current unnecessary tax could be found and eliminated. We as citizens of the USA must speak up to support our law enforcement and firemen, as our public safety is first. I have been involved in budget preparation for a Fortune 500 company, I am aware of how base line budgets are planned and written. Many support census positions are not as necessary as police and fire and could be taken out of the budget. In our current age of high technology, computers can crunch numbers and keep track of essential data necessary to operate municipal businesses. If our municipality management really wants to give customer service to us citizens, who are the taxpayers, they should cut administrative census positions first when economic downturns occur. All law enforcement, correction and detention officers, dispatchers, EMT and firefighters census positions must remain a priority. Crime never goes away. In our current situation, citizens and businesses need protection. Being a retired senior citizen, my motto is public safety must be our No. 1 priority.
The reason the county is in the black now is the same reason it is in the black every year at this time. It is in the black because taxes were just collected, not because of the small fee. Do the math and you'll see the fee will take several years to get us in the black, not one year.
I don't fully understand all the venom about Jay Mathews. Our problem did not build up under him. Our problem occurred like the current poor health of the USA, over many years. While things are still a mess, it is not entirely Jay's fault. Mathews walked into this mess. His real guilt is not acting fast enough and not communicating.
Barnesville poured money into the water system, then Carters left, and to use the increased water production capacity Lamar decided to expand the water system. Nobody ran the numbers to see if the expansion would pay the infrastructure cost, and now we have that debt looming over us. We won't see Barnesville offering to bail the county out for what would have helped the City had it gone well.
Another problem is we have a community rat working hard against many existing small and medium businesses in the community.
The real problem is at all levels.
How can I pay if I do not know how much I owe?
Do you all need a fire chief over there?
LOOK AT THE INCREASE IN THE SCHOOL BUDGET OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. ARE THE SCHOOLS BETTER NOW THAT THEY WERE 5 YEARS AGO.
Increased spending in County Budget does not mean better Local Government.
LOOK AT THE INCREASE IN LAMAR COUNTY BUDGET OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. DO WE HAVE BETTER GOODS/SERVICES NOW THAT WE DID 5 YEARS AGO?
Cutting the school budget and the Lamar County Government does not mean a reduction in services! Cut the budgets back to 5 years ago and reduce taxes!
Don't cut Law enforcement and firefighters. This letter is to all town, city and state managers, governors, and lawmakers in our United States of America. Never cut law enforcement and firefighters census positions from your budgets. In the USA a national law should be passed by our Congress to make budget census for all police and fire department officers a priority, never to be adjusted downward. Where would the monies come from to support this national law? A special payroll tax titled “Public Safety Support.” Some would say “not another tax.” A current unnecessary tax could be found and eliminated. We as citizens of the USA must speak up to support our law enforcement and firemen, as our public safety is first. I have been involved in budget preparation for a Fortune 500 company, I am aware of how base line budgets are planned and written. Many support census positions are not as necessary as police and fire and could be taken out of the budget. In our current age of high technology, computers can crunch numbers and keep track of essential data necessary to operate municipal businesses. If our municipality management really wants to give customer service to us citizens, who are the taxpayers, they should cut administrative census positions first when economic downturns occur. All law enforcement, correction and detention officers, dispatchers, EMT and firefighters census positions must remain a priority. Crime never goes away. In our current situation, citizens and businesses need protection. Being a retired senior citizen, my motto is public safety must be our No. 1 priority.
Don't cut Law enforcement and firefighters. This letter is to all town, city and state managers, governors, and lawmakers in our United States of America. Never cut law enforcement and firefighters census positions from your budgets. In the USA a national law should be passed by our Congress to make budget census for all police and fire department officers a priority, never to be adjusted downward. Where would the monies come from to support this national law? A special payroll tax titled “Public Safety Support.” Some would say “not another tax.” A current unnecessary tax could be found and eliminated. We as citizens of the USA must speak up to support our law enforcement and firemen, as our public safety is first. I have been involved in budget preparation for a Fortune 500 company, I am aware of how base line budgets are planned and written. Many support census positions are not as necessary as police and fire and could be taken out of the budget. In our current age of high technology, computers can crunch numbers and keep track of essential data necessary to operate municipal businesses. If our municipality management really wants to give customer service to us citizens, who are the taxpayers, they should cut administrative census positions first when economic downturns occur. All law enforcement, correction and detention officers, dispatchers, EMT and firefighters census positions must remain a priority. Crime never goes away. In our current situation, citizens and businesses need protection. Being a retired senior citizen, my motto is public safety must be our No. 1 priority.
A child that wants to learn will do it in a barn. A child that could care less is much more apt to appreciate an improved Country Club of Attempted Teachings and Hopeful Learning. Teach those kids who want to learn but, build a boot camp to teach discipline to the others who only want to socialize. If parents can’t teach discipline to the kids, the foundation for learning will not exist.
And bring back the military draft. For those kids that persist in accomplishing nothing, the military is a good place to teach them how to get out of bed in the morning and go to work. Perhaps picking up paper on the side of the road all day will give an incentive to pursue an education. And finally for those that are adamant about being a leach on society, there is always prison. This just provides a quicker trip to place they are likely to wind up anyway.