Catoosa Vision

Public Hearing #2

Well, this meeting did not start with a public trashing of me... maybe since I was in the room that took the winds out of the sails of the SS Courage.

Kudos to the County Commission for voting (mostly 3-2, and sometimes 4-1 or 5-0) to maintain funding for many key public safety and quality of life expenditures in the County budget. For example, the Sheriff's department has received the necessary funding for the required additional staffing, 911 staffing, etc. -- increases brought on as a direct result of the explosive and thus far uncontrolled growth.

Several citizens voiced their concerns about increased property taxes... legitimate concerns. As I've written before, no one wants to pay more taxes. But, as I said in my (respectful) public comments, we should not look at taxes as sacrifices, but rather as investments -- investments in our future, our quality of life. The problems we face today were not created overnight, nor will they be solved overnight.

But, the solution -- painful it will be -- must begin at some point. We simply cannot forestall the future from overtaking us. Try as we might to "conserve" what we have and survive by continuing to REDUCE COUNTY SERVICES such as police, fire, schools (kids are the future!), adult learning center, etc., eventually, we cut into bone and marrow, doing more harm than good... damage that may become unfixable.

We need two things desperately:

#1 - A LEADER, who has
#2 - A VISION, which is positive, constructive, and motivational.

What we have now is:

#1 - A Leader, who has
#2 - An AGENDA, to cut government services so far that we will essentially have nothing left.

Thankfully, he's only one vote... but WATCH OUT! Speaking of personal agendas, the spectre of a sole commissioner was raised tonight.

Congratulations to Mr. Gracy who challenged Mr. Clark by reminding everyone that, despite the difficulties of dealting with diverse opinions, democracy is still the superior solution over dictatorial despots.

Sigh... I can certainly understand people not wanting increased property taxes, especially those who OWN LARGE AMOUNTS OF LAND in Catoosa County, and would thus be classified as "one of the wealthiest" in the County.

Again, congratulations to the Commission for their courageous votes tonight. Just as one citizen said tonight, I will also remember those who vote in the correct ways and will offer them deserved support.

Like it or not, our future quality of life is at stake here... the choice is simple, vote against the tax increases and watch your quality of life CONTINUE to erode. Vote for the tax increases and buy our community the time to get a true visionary leader -- someone who can solve tomorrow's problems by building a better future ... starting today.

posted by Chris Casey @ 10:11 PM