Wasteful spending rampant in PWC
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Shirley Collins
Published: November 6, 2008
Thanks to Cheryl Chumley for coverage of the Prince William County budget meeting.
How in the world can county staff and/or the Board of County Supervisors contemplate a real estate tax increase, again placing the burden on property owners who have been paying their bills?
Would not a starting point be to evaluate the necessity of some expenditures, such as $402 per tree on Ashton Avenue (many of which died).
This cost figure is according to the Neighborhood Services Department of Prince William County Public Works.
The same trees could have been purchased for a fraction of that cost if properly price shopped. This is meant to be only one example of much overspending within the local government.
Is anyone accountable for over-spending? It seems so easy to have “pie in the sky” attitude and continue to forget the impact on “average citizens.”
SHIRLEY COLLINS
Brentsville District
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on November 07, 2008 at 6:07 am
“First, Martin Nohe and a couple of others on the Board are RINO. Secondly, County government is run by a county executive who is a Democrat as well as his staff and other county employees.“
Well then I guess the constituants that elected Nohe “and others” are RINO’s also - may he serve them well.
And ... as the County Executive works for the Board, his Democratic performance is a direct reflection on the poor leadership of the BOCS Chairman.
I like your neat society where if things are going well, Republicans are in charge, but any sign of failure and you find a way to blame a Democrat, even down to “as well as his staff and other county employees”.
As if some clerk working the Zoning counter approved more development just because of her plans to vote for Obama.
Perhaps we can just agree that the county finances are in deep doo-doo and SOMEONE better step up and take a role in being part of the solution.
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Posted by ( do the right thing ) on November 06, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Mr. Williams:
First, Martin Nohe and a couple of others on the Board are RINO. Secondly, County government is run by a county executive who is a Democrat as well as his staff and other county employees.
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on November 06, 2008 at 7:49 pm
“about cutting ESOL but keeping staff”
This was from an earlier conversation months ago where people cheered when students left the ESOL program and Corey boasted about the “savings” to the county. Corey boasted that if each student - on average - costs PWC say $1,000 per head and 100 students (meaning illegals) left the program, PWC “saved” $100,000.
I’ve always comment unless a teacher or administrator position was cut to realign with the lower student population, there was NO savings to the county. 100 teachers at $50k per year is still 100 teachers at $50k per years, regardless of the number of students in the mix.
The current PWC budget crisis proves my point. No teachers were harmed in the making of the PWC ESOL policy.
Should these extra teachers be laid off or reassigned through a bumping process? By all means. But in the end, someone is going to get bumped to the street. And that someone won’t be buying a new deck from me!
I sure don’t have all the answers but just want to remind people that when we talk “broad cuts” we are talking about someones house payment, car payment or lunch money and the trickle down effect it has on other businesses.
But the country (and federal government) must operate as we do and not live beyond their income means.
Their only options remain cutting costs or increasing income. We’ll see which direction the Republican-led board takes - and in fairness, the now Democratic-led federal government.
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Posted by ( mmarin ) on November 06, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Ray,
Like you, I live paycheck to paycheck. So, I would feel the same pain from any sort of cutbacks or widescale RIFs.
I also said, “There should be no sacred cows in the budget…“ in reference your comment about cutting ESOL but keeping staff. We have to not be afraid of making budget cuts to ANY office - including education, public safety, and social programs.
Bare in mind that job losses do not equate to a 1:1 ratio in terms of unemployment. Those with good skills can get a job in the public sector.
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on November 06, 2008 at 6:20 pm
“A 30% across the board cut to all services is what we need.“
There is a ying and yang to all cuts. For every position eliminated, there is another person on the unemployment line.
And as we learned with eliminating participants in programs such as ESOL but not eliminating the county employees that taught and supported the program, there was no actual dollar savings to the county if the employee still received a paycheck.
Off with their heads is a great battle cry - until it is your company wielding the ax ... and your head on the chopping block.
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on November 06, 2008 at 6:09 pm
“Guess what Mr. Williams, they are primarily run by Democrats.“
I must apologize, do right, I was under the impression PWC had an elected Republican majority.
I’m not real good in math, but I count Corey Stewart, John Stirrup, Wally Covington, Marty Nohe, Maureen Caddigan, and Mike May as Republicans sitting on the Board of Supervisors.
Let’s see .... that makes SIX.
On the Democratic side, I count John Jenkins and Frank Principi sitting on the BOCS.
Doing the math here ... 1+1 equals TWO.
So what you are saying is the two Democrats run the BOCS by concession of the six Republicans??
Moving on to Manassas City ... I see we have 6 of the 7 seats held by .. wait for it .. Republicans, with Steve Randolph being an Independent.
I mean, where does your hatred of Democrats spring from?
You blindly supported President Bush simply because he was a Republican - even when he led the country down the wrong path. You supported Senator McCain until he lost - now you won’t support his call to rally around the new president-elect, Barack Obama.
You sound like a fair-weather friend to me. Love your guys when they’re right, pretend you don’t know them when they’re wrong.
Glad I’m a Democrat. I sure wouldn’t want friends like you.
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on November 06, 2008 at 5:48 pm
“Why aren’t you working?“
Because I’m a remodeling contractor feeling the effects of the Bush Administration financial crisis.
Any other questions?
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Posted by ( do the right thing ) on November 06, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Mr. Williams,
Once again you must be confused. It is the tax, spend, and give away Democrats who are burdening our county budget. Why are most county governments corrupt? Guess what Mr. Williams, they are primarily run by Democrats.
Democrats motto,“Government can solve all of your problems” Get real Mr. Williams. You have too much time on your hands. Why aren’t you working?
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Posted by ( mmarin ) on November 06, 2008 at 12:31 pm
A 30% across the board cut to all services is what we need. There should be no sacred cows in the budget, slice it off the top.
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Posted by ( Posts as Pinko ) on November 06, 2008 at 9:02 am
—In fact, until we are out of this economic morass, we don’t need to plant any trees—
No, the DEVELOPERS need to be planting trees. And they need to pay a “tree tax.“ For every tree they rip down, they need to plant two in its place. Maybe this will discourage them from clear-cutting as they are wont to do.
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