|
8/3/2004 |
|
Poster including composite photo I want to paste on a local utility pole... Wanted: Bond Salesman $20 Million Park and Rec Bond Proposal Background from the GC Parks and Rec page: "In 1988, the voters of Guilford County approved a $12 million Parks & Recreation Facilities Bond Referendum. Shortly thereafter, the Guilford County Parks & Recreation Commission was formed. Made up of 14 citizens, the Parks Commission has been charged with the mission of:
To date, the Commission has guided the acquisition and development of seven regional parks with a total of 2,300 acres preserved for active recreation and open space in Guilford County. With the passage of the May, 2000 bond referendum,Guilford County voters approved an additional 10 million dollars in funds for continued development of the County park system." I won't get esoteric here on the role of government parks in our society. Let's just talk growth rates and accountability: 1) Until 1988, Guilford County somehow miraculously survived and prospered before we had a Park and Rec Commission. 2) In 1988, a $12 million dollar bond proposal naming specific projects to be completed via the use of taxpayer dollars was put before the voters and was approved. 3) In 2000, twelve years later (nominally using approved funds at a $1 million dollar a year pace --- not counting interest payments) and while still coasting on the end of the decade economic euphoria, a second bond proposal for $10 million dollars was approved by the voters of Guilford County. The wording of this second bond proposal listed projects, which had never been completed but ostensibly promised using the first $12 million dollars approved by the electorate in 1988. (In light of the lack of performance in meeting objectives using the first $12 million dollars, I personally voted against this bond proposal, which did to my dismay pass handily.) 4) Now just four years later (a $2.5 million dollars a year pace) the Parks and Rec Commission is looking for an additional $20 million dollars of taxpayer money with no stipulation as to what specific projects are to be completed and how long this $20 million dollars would be expected to satisfy the commission's increasingly voracious appetite for the public's money. The public hearing for putting this $20 million bond proposal will be at this Thursday night's County Commission meeting at the Old Courthouse. Were I currently sitting on the GC board, these would be my questions as a commissioner: "Can you show us how the first $22 million dollars provided by the taxpayers as been spent and allocated versus the results that were promised? "What are the exact projects and budgets you have drawn up for the use of the $20 million dollars you are requesting?" I think these are fair questions to ask the Parks and Rec Commission (or their staff) to account for. Anticipating the answers, I am quite confident that I would be voting NO on putting this proposal before the voters --- some of whom may assume that placement on the November ballot is a tacit approval by the Guildford County Board of Commissioners that the Park and Rec Commission has been a good steward of the taxpayers money. note: $20 million; that must be the magic number for bond money proposals to cover public entertainment and relaxation projects. 1:16:07 PM
comment [] |
