FOUNDER PATRICK HENRY’S RAPACIOUS HARPIES. December 30, 2014
No apologies, no explanations to the taxpaying citizens, no specific accountability to taxpayers, just political brute force and what appears to be misapplication of funds. WHERE DID THE MONEY GO GENERATED BY THE CITY’S 1% SEWER/STREET TAX?
Where did hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to sewers/streets generated by the 30 year old 1% sewer/street sales tax go??? Specifically, the disappearance of $630 MILLION, one-half of which was dedicated for the eradication of sewer deficiencies.
The City Administration was notified 26 years ago by a directive from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to eradicate the sewer mess that was 4 years after trusting citizens had already taken action and voted for the 1% sewer/street tax.
The year 2014 the Environmental Protection Agency levied a $300,000 fine (allegedly no funds to pay the fine) on the citizens of Fort Smith, AR for non-compliance of the EPA edict.
Dec. 8, 2014 citizens were informed they must spend $200 MILLION to correct sewer/waste water deficiencies brought on by present & past City Managers’ inattention to the EPA mandate starting with the Strib Boynton Administration. Former & present City Directors were/are equally to blame.
Dec. 10, 2014 the $200 MILLION EPA demand ballooned to approximately $500 MILLION (1/2 BILLION) and will in all likelihood reach $750 MILLION due to inflation and government misfeasance at the 12 year finish line. It’s the city governments’ expectations that the $500 MILLION start-up money will be generated by ill-informed citizens’ voting for another 10 year round of 1% tax madness.
Pertaining to the $300,000 fine and the now $500 million EPA mandate, not one explanation from City Manager Ray Gosack, an off & on 22 year veteran city employee, nor from the obtuse Mayor & City Directors. Gosack stated in the December time frame he was pleased with the EPA arrangement. How so? The private sector citizens are the ones that will bear new tax burdens brought on by city government misfeasance, while Gosack & associates feed in the government welfare trough.
Enter the term “Sharrows”—emanating from aspiring political midgets and self-servers, fed to them by the United Nation’s Agenda 21 hucksters. In this regard Non-Government Organization (NGO) Parks Commission Chairwoman Angie Robertson stated with hubris, “We will earmark up to 10% of the tax revenues for trails.” Another example of an unelected dictating the tenor of city business. Who are “ we” Madam Robertson?
“Sharrows” is to be a looping trail 86 miles long at an opening taxpayer cost of $10-17 Million, absent funding. The city used 2 meetings for political cover in their “Sharrows” game and relied on a reported half dozen self-serving individuals to make the determination to build 86 miles of trails & bikeways. These few dozen attendees, for city purposes, are making a decision for the 150,000 person metroplex.
Until and if citizens examine their own trails in lieu of corrupt governments, the fiscal asphyxiation will continue, along with other personal attacks.
Coupled to the looping trails, Gosack and his insiders, with the full force of the Directors behind them, and by force of course, are poised to give city employees an 7-8% salary increase—a 4% health & a 3-4% merit/step raise…no available funding—the “officials” solution: raise taxes as Founder Patrick Henry once described, those “Rapacious Harpies”, referring to those who pick the bones of the producers.
Ark. governments’ preamble is always to lobby the AR. General Assembly, pass unconstitutional laws that give the Harpies power of force to increase taxes and create Commissions (NGO’s); thereby bypassing the wishes, demands & consent of the citizens. Recall if you will, that all departments in government have their unions & lobbying agents, coupled with NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations. The idea always is to expand government & crush private sector rights.
Further recall: Both City Manager Ray Gosack and Police Chief Kevin Lindsey belong to international managing & policing agencies. These two and perhaps other agency heads are taking their orders from the U.N. & DC opportunists while thumbing their collective noses at the citizens of Fort Smith and at the same time removing influence & decision-making out of the hands of taxpaying citizens. What are the ensuing costs of Gosack’s & Lindsey’s (& perhaps others) memberships in international bodies ?
There will be at least 15 fee increases and 10 or more new taxes implemented in order for the city to bestow employee pay raises and rekindle Fire & Police Pensions. The 25 new tax increases that are to be implemented by force will not totally cover pensions & raises. Then, how? What was the source of funding up to this point?
Then the matters of fluoridation, trails, bikeways, wayfinding signs, event nodes, etc. etc. All absent funding. And yes, Griffin & Sicard’s so-called “private enterprise”, i.e. the Marshal’s Museum which has been the recipient of several millions of taxpayer dollars, some of which appear to be surreptitiously obtained.
Then the big matter: the $½ Billion, 12 year initial cost for overhauling sewer/waste water systems and necessarily more new tax monies, more city employees, coupled with more economic demands and ensuing loss of personal freedoms made on Fort Smith citizens. Is an increase in property tax in our future, authorized by the Rapacious Harpies?
Conclusion: City Manager Ray Gosack and past Managers are guilty of misapplication of city funds, perhaps in the millions, aided by complicit or intimidated City Boards.
1. What happened to the $630 MILLION generated by the now 30 year 1% road/sewer tax?
2. What was the involvement, if any, of the Fort Smith City’s Attorney?
3. Why did City Administrators not act on the sewer mess in proper prescribed time frame?
4. Where are the explanations or excuses for this extreme, if nothing else, incompetency?
5. With the magnitude of financial deficiencies why would this administration even consider entering into hugely expensive non-essential programs such as trails, bikeways, etc. orchestrated by U.N. Agenda 21. Trails & bikeways already abound in the Fort Smith landscape.
6. Is there not a bid process going on in the city government?
7. By permitting city “heads” to take their marching orders from international bodies, are we not subsidizing in any number of ways our own demise?
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: Where is citizen outrage regarding the insouciant present city government? Should legal action not be brought against Gosack, the city’s legal counsel and to a lesser degree the Directors for practices they appear to be engaged in that have all appearances of malfeasance and misfeasance?
SOCIALIST AUTHOR H.G. WELLS CORRECTLY PREDICTED IN 1908 THAT:
“SOCIALISM WOULD CEASE TO BE AN OPEN REVOLUTION AND WOULD INSTEAD BECOME A SUBTLE PLOT. FUNCTIONS WERE TO BE SHIFTED FROM THE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE, TO THE APPOINTED OFFICIAL…A SCIENTIFIC BUREAURACY APPOINTED BY REPRESENTATIVE BODIES WHICH WOULD HAVE DIMINISHING ACTIVITY AND IMPORTANCE…”
Citizens this was and is the definition of functioning Non-Governmental Organizations which are at work nationally and internationally, complements of U.S. governments.
Joe McCutchen
arkansasfreedom.net