We will fight with all we have against every single enemy of our country or Constitution, be they foreign or domestic.Green Shoots…Not.
There’s a practical argument against the so-called ‘Green Shoot’ propaganda that’s being spouted by the administration and their mouthpieces. Whether it’s the population shifting away from high tax states, businesses holding back on expansions and hirings and the bulk of your average Americans unconvinced that the government isn’t wasting trillions of dollars on bailouts and porkulus…and that they will dramatically raise our taxes to pay for it.
Here’s more…
From NBC 13 in Birmingham, AL:
The Jefferson County Commission has unveiled proposals to cut tens of millions of dollars from its budget.
According to information from Commission President Bettye Fine Collins’ office, government functions, jobs, contracts and satellite courthouses will be eliminated or closed.
Here are some of the items as proposed cuts and reductions:
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Stop the Office of Senior Citizens Services program, which saves $3.2 million.
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Close the Jefferson Rehabilitation and Health indigent nursing home facility, saving $5 million.
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Stop all building inspections, saving $1.8 million.
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Stop all zoning and construction regulation, saving $2.6 million.
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Eliminate contracts with U.S. Pipe and Foundry, Southland Entertainment, KD Hoover, Colonial Realty Limited Partnership, City of Hoover Ross Bridge project, and others, totalling $25 million.
Also, postponing opening a new Bessemer Couthouse, terminate all road maintenance in all cities, close all satellite courthouses, and reduce the county’s vehicle fleet.
A vote on these proposals, which adds up to $51,761,563 could come June 9, 2009.
The largest drop in local property values in decades, combined with plummeting non ad valorem revenues, could mean an up-to $400 million hit to Miami-Dade County’s budget in the upcoming fiscal year.
And when it comes to balancing it, “everything is on the table,” elected leaders say.
The $350 million to $400 million estimate is based on this year’s tax rate, according to a Monday memo from County Manager George Burgess.
Commissioners could help close the budget gap by raising the rate next fiscal year — and it’s not out of the question for some.
“Everything has got to be on the table at this particular point in time,” Commission Chair Dennis Moss said Monday, after Property Appraiser Pedro J. Garcia released property tax roll estimates.
The preliminary tax roll shows an about 9.2% decline in countywide taxable value since last year.
Florida Keys taxable property values in sharp decline.
Monroe County’s taxable property values declined 12.6 percent in 2009 from 2008, according to estimates from the Monroe County Property Appraiser’s Office.
That’s double the decline reported last year and a far larger drop than Miami-Dade County, which reported an overall 9 percent decline. In Broward County, where the tax rolls this year included short sales and foreclosures, values dropped by 10.7 percent.
The Monroe County estimates show a $3.3 billion drop in taxable value to $22.9 billion.
Those figures, given to local taxing authorities this week for budget planning purposes, are evidence of the real estate market’s downturn. The lower valuations also reflect changes in state property tax laws, including new caps on nonhomesteaded residences and commercial property valuations.
”We expected a reduction,” County Administrator Roman Gastesi said, but “maybe not double figures.”
“Still, our budget director, Tina Boan, has been very diligent in reminding us that this day will come, so we have been planning accordingly.”
The smaller tax base likely means that Keys property owners will see an increase in tax rates as officials try to avoid cutting services.
”Overall, I think we’ll get direction to keep rollback, but to do that we’ll have to increase the millage,” Gastesi said. “If we’re going to go to rollback, that means we have to increase the millage to compensate for the reductions in property value so we generate the dollars.”
The goal, Gastesi said, will be “trying to keep services flat.”
I noticed that there is plenty of talk about raising taxes, but nothing in there about cutting the salaries or expense accounts of the local politicians who got them into the whole mess. I guess that would be too much to ask.
