Sunday, October 19, 2014
THE UNFAIR SCHOOL-TAX-LEVY!
19 October 2014, Vol.1, No.70 > THE UNFAIR SCHOOL-TAX-LEVY!
The POCAHONTAS CRIER
‘When the Righteous succeed the people rejoice,
But when the bad govern, men groan!’ – Proverbs 29:2
[New Email address: pocahontascrier88@gmail.com]
THE UNFAIR SCHOOL-
TAX-LEVY!
The disparity of trying to force another school-tax-levy upon Pocahontas County at this point in time is really appalling & then some! And the placing of SELF-PITY articles in the local ‘Pokey-Times’ is equally appalling! All anyone has to do is apply a LITTLE COMMON SENSE to understand the UNFAIRNESS of asking folks on FIXED-INCOMES, or those receiving MINIMUM-WAGES, or those unemployed, or those about to have their water-turned-off in Durbin & Marlinton pursuant to EXISTING FINANCIAL PRESSURES, etc., and all the other Common Sense Reasons surrounding folks on fixed-low-incomes to PLACE YET ANOTHER FINANCIAL BURDEN UPON THEMSELVES is more of an INSULT to the People of this County than a necessity! WHO CAN REALLY AFFORD YET ANOTHER FINANCIAL LOSS OF INCOME IN THIS COUNTY?
THE HIGH COST OF FINANCIAL BURDENS:
(1) The State of West Virginia takes 35¢ for EVERY GALLON OF GASOLINE and the Federal-Tax is close to 20¢ PER/GALLON of fuel regardless of how much gasoline anyone puts in their vehicle. So for every 10-gallons that’s $5.50 IN TAXES for what it once cost to fill-up the entire gas-tank!
(2) Currently we have the county solid waste authority forcing a ‘mandatory-fee’ upon every household in this county whether you bury trash in their open-dump or not – to the point that upwards to ONE-THIRD of the approximate 3400 households left in this county have judgments against them for not paying the ‘fee’ that is SUPPOSED TO BE EXEMPT FOR SENIOR CITIZENS and anyone else on a‘FIXED-INCOME’! Meanwhile Ed Riley has controlled all the PCSWA funds for 25 years – instead of the Office of the Sheriff by law – and Riley has in excess of $2.5 MILLION in CDs (Certificate of Deposits) – not to mention the $800,000+ that seems to be currently missing or‘misplaced’!
(3) Then we have a few unfortunate households in Durbin & Marlinton that have had or will have their water turned off because of existing financial burdens – in which folks have to choose between the BASIC NECESSITIES of Food, Clothing & Shelter – or choose to pay for heat, water, taxes, or MEDICINE or MEDICAL COPAYS…but not for everything since there is not enough money each month to go around!
(4) Now consider this: the total number of students attending all three schools in this county is around 1100 or less, yet the School Board is receiving funds for 1400 students – via a ‘cap’ that Walt Helmick provided when he was a state senator – so that’s over 300 students that DO NOT EXIST, yet the School Board is being paid by both the federal & state for those empty seats every day!
(5) Consider also that once the new WASTE-
TREATMENT PLANT is completed at the base of Snowshoe, all homeowners on the mountain and all those in the Public Service District, such as Durbin, etc., will see a dramatic INCREASE in their monthly sewage bills! Do they really need an ADDITIONAL SCHOOL-TAX-LEVY that is supposed to exist in 5-YEAR INCREMENTS? And aren’t our current county commissioners currently contemplating ANOTHER NEW ‘TAX’ upon each household under the pretense of ‘fire-protection’? What’s next – a new fire-engine every year for each substation? Or new armored-Hummers for the Sheriff & each Deputy?
(6) And consider that BOTH Durbin & Marlinton need
new drinking-water facilities – so do those folks
really need an ADDITIONAL SCHOOL-TAX-LEVY
that once implemented can be RENEWED EVERY
5-YEARs?
(7) Don’t we all have to live within our current means –
regardless of income – don’t we all just have to do
the best we can? Unlike school administrators,
government workers, or business-owners – the rank
& file Citizen DOES NOT GET AUTOMATIC PAY-
RAISES! When was the last time SS, SSD,
unemployment, or the Minimum-Wage was raised
to meet the current COST-OF-LIVING (COL) as the
Congress & State Legislature VOTED TO RAISE for
themselves? THE DISPARITY IS TOO GREAT!
Let’s face the realities of the current situation – the total population of full-time residents is now down to about 8400 Citizens – the majority of which are on ‘fixed-incomes’ in one form or another and at the bottom-end of the economic -scale – so WHO REALLY CAN AFFORD YET ANOTHER TAX TO TAKE FOOD & BASIC NECESSITIES AWAY FROM THE TABLE? The straight answer is – NO ONE! You can’t beat a dead-horse, you can’t get blood from a stone, and you can’t collect TAXES in a WAR-WEARY-ECONOMY from folks on fixed-incomes, being paid minimum-wages, or being unemployed!
JUST VOTE ‘NO’ ON THE SCHOOL BOND LEVY!
This is Pocahontas County – NOT ‘SHERWOOD FOREST’ IN NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND – so
NO NEW TAXES!
Norman Lee Alderman has never stopped trying to benefit the folks of this county in all his various efforts as a school teacher, pastor, former county commissioner, and editor of his powerful Website –
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Yes good old Walt H got us more money than we deserved and it was wasted.Yes huge ammounts of taxes are collected and wasted.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes the citizens of poc. can ill afford additional taxes or levys.
not to mention declining school enrollment and population in this county and state
ReplyDeleteWhy do i always hear Sherry Radcliff's name come up everytime the levy is talked about? Why is she pushing so hard for the working class to pay for this? Does she have a real job to do? Norman you must get on the board. You are the only one who will speak the truth about what is really going on!
ReplyDeletebecause Ratcliff is the one pushing it. my kids go to the school and have never said the schools are falling apart. i have been in the schools and they look fine. they just want more money to line there pockets
DeleteSorry there is not Ratcliff in the board office. Your showing really that you don't even have a clue what is going on or who's there. You may be able to walk in and it look fine. But have you walked into a house and it look fine until you take off the Sheetrock? And you actually see what's underneath? Mold, leaking, heat or air not working? Yeah didn't think you have.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure my kids would tell me. If the roof was leaking, if they saw mild and that the heat wasn't working. Please spread your lies else where. I'm sure some people are stupid to think thats the truth.
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