Follow the Smell

Follow the Smell

Something stinks with the Page County Board of Supervisors, and it isn’t the Landfill. First, they brought us the Flood Plain Ordinance. Then, they reassessed our houses above what the market will pay. Then, they raised taxes to the point that they are forcing some of our citizens to sell. Now, they are about to approve a budget of $99M. Last year, it was half that. The difference, we were told, was to pay down the debt for the schools. Makes sense. Borrow $46M for schools, pay $36M off this year, and then next year borrow a little more, pay off the schools in two years. Solid, cash based financial management.

But now the story is changing. Now the $36M is just debt service. It’s not paying down the debt. At the Supervisors LaLaLand Retreat last week, suddenly that money wasn’t paying off anything. Chairman LaFrance expressed his dismay that citizens attended the meeting, and clearly cautioned the few people in the audience not to touch the juice and pastries set up for the Supervisors. That’s going to play really nice on YouTube, Tommy. You see, Page County Watch brought videocameras. We have the one hour on tape, showing the arrogant disregard for the more than 70 citizens who protested the sentence in the Comprehensive Plan that says: “Develop ordinances that prohibit buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain”. At that May 15 meeting, according to the audiotape, Chairman LaFrance says, “This Board is up to the task” of reviewing and fixing the problems with the Comprehensive Plan. But after “retreating” to take up the task, the Board only needed one hour to do it! Their solution: change the word “prohibit” to “regulate”. That’ll do it, our Supervisors concluded.

Later, after the cameras were turned off, Chairman LaFrance insisted to citizens that the Flood Plain Ordinance was dead, a dead issue, no longer being considered. Yet, citizens who have asked Supervisor Hoke say he doesn’t think so. Citizens who have asked Supervisor Strickler say she doesn’t think so. We know for a fact that the Gang of Five on the Planning Commission doesn’t think so, as they keep trying to breathe life into it. And here this sentence stays, sitting there in the Comprehensive Plan, now saying: “Develop ordinances that REGULATE buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain.” Never mind that we already have a perfectly good ordinance that meets state and federal requirements at this time. Our Supervisors want to do MORE. Why? That is the answer we cannot get. Except, of course, it must be because of the Karst topography, tongue-in-cheek. (For those of you who didn’t get that joke, you have GOT to attend these Planning Commission meetings. They are so much funnier than Reality TV.)

Now here’s the deal. There is something fishy about that budget. Citizens can’t read it, the way it’s being presented. But, among all our citizens out here, we’ll find somebody who can. We’ll present it in more understandable ways. Our Page County citizens are being harmed by the very people who were elected to represent THEM. The arrogant members of the Board of Supervisors are not representing the people of this county.

We will be posting the details of that budget on the main site, at http://www.PageCountyWatch.org soon.

Alice Richmond