Fort Smith School Superintendent Benny Gooden, the downtown oligarchs, & a few of their hat tricks.
July 6, 2015
Politicians and bureaucrats speak incessantly about their “visions”, i.e. con games—more control, more spending, more self-service.
Fort Smith citizens have been blistered for months by city government stating that police & fire pensions are in financial disarray and there must be budget reductions, i.e. cuts. Nothing about new spending increases & proposals, absent restraints, as witnessed by one of the sponges and one wanna be. That would be two fellows named Reinert & Merry, but not limited to, who are campaigning for huge new spending menus, e.g. bike lanes, multi-use rail trails, river taxis, fishing pavilions, community centers and on—more bread and circuses for a majority of the masses.
It was only weeks ago that Fort Smith citizens rejected the city’s vigorous financial plea for more trails (Agenda 21), but in typically corrupt politicians’ mind-set, they did not accept the will of the people, they just keep coming back to work their will; case in point, Dianne Morrison, resident Marxist and Certified Planner, e.g.” Placemaking, Public Participation, Local Government, Transportation Planning, Community Development, Comprehensive Planning”, (for whom?) and the beat goes on.
Government Planners are the enemy—the enemy of the people, the enemy of freedom, the enemy of free movement, taker of responsibilities of elected government officials and a huge sponge for tax dollars. Observe the multitude of NGO’s & MPO’s and multiplying all by design.
Society should demand the concept of letting things evolve naturally and not planning our lives by government acolytes.
Another example of same: Superintendent Benny Gooden getting quashed by Sammy Sicard & Richard Griffin & other downtown oligarchs, on his proposal for a new $75 million high school. Gooden comes back days later with a new plan for a $78 million spendathon, allegedly to be applied to his existing Taj Mahals. Nothing was said about this proposed $78 million spending spree prior to the new high school proposal. Does this mean Gooden not only wanted $75 million for a new school but also $78 million for existing schools? Remember, Gooden is a federal government union man (President of the National Superintendents Union) and he carried out the Fed’s & downtown oligarchs’ edict to implement their and his Southside coup d’état by removing, surreptitiously (no prior public discussion) the school’s Rebel mascot and anything relating to Dixie. The fix was and is in. This certainly was not a one man hit job.
Gooden would dare not carry out a plan of this magnitude that destroyed Johnny Reb, the fight song Dixie, the Dixie Belles, etc. without political heavyweights directing & backing his massacre. Think, if you will, what Gooden & the enabling Board did without consultation or discussion with Fort Smith citizens, all the while impugning and besmirching the good character of Fort Smith Southerners and the multitude of Southside alumni.. All done in secrecy (against the law) before the official Board meeting that evening and only later did he favor the city citizens with a July 27 hearing that will allow the people to comment. The fix is in. Gooden and the Boards’ behavior was/is despicable.
Ms. Mehl appears to be the spokesperson for the coup d’état.
And to the matter of trails and other Agenda 21 pursuits, resident Marxist Diane Morrison, Chief of the NGO, i.e. The Frontier Metro Planning Organization’s 2040 chimes in with an absurd statement, “there’s no money involved, so dream big while you have the chance”. (Translation please!!…more government doublespeak/lies.)
Now back to the citizens and the shortages in the police & fire pensions. Where did the money go? Probably the same places the 25 year $600 million 1 cent street & sewer tax went.
All the while, not a word from the FSM City Manager & Board about plans, if any, for the payment of the EPA’s hefty fine of $300,000 and the $500 million or more EPA demands to fix the sewers over the next 12 years.
Fort Smith City Administrator Ray Gosack asked the police department to shave their budget, allegedly to bailout the police/fire pensions.
If Gosack was an effective CEO he would have demanded the Chief of Police to cut his budget, Lindsay would not have been simply “asked” . The same command should go out to all department heads in the Fort Smith city government—CUT!
Where is Gosack’s “vision”, why did he and Director of Finance Kara Bushkuhl not see all these financial deficiencies coming years ago, as well as the City Board, or did they spend pension funds on some other so-called “projects”. In that vein Fort Smith city streets are a disgrace. Enough about visions.
The Mayor & Board of Directors appear to have no moxie, and are just a collection of political wanderlusts spending millions to keep the bread & circus crowd appeased.
The Fort Smith city government, and all governments for that matter, will never function efficiently until citizens’ demand that all departments introduce ZERO BASED BUDGETRY—means every department does not begin with a budget with built-in increases year after year. It means every single expense has to be anticipated and accounted for, and that each succeeding year begins with reducing the out-go. With proper management there are some departments that could actually increase revenue. Without such a plan, bureaucrats & politicians will continue their insatiable pillaging. The City Manager, the Mayor & Board and all their NGO’s have proved to be grossly improvident.
The American Institute of Planners comes under the heading of either “progressive, socialist, communist, Marxist”…take your pick. Both Democrat & Republican parties & the governments they create are responsible for these destructors of freedom.
Government Planners are an anathema to a free society! (i.e. CONTROL OF THE PEOPLE)
Joe McCutchen
P.S. Consider: this is the 3rd request directed to any official in the F.S. city government to provide the amount of liquid assets immediately available, that means any financial instrument that can immediately be used as cash…cash, bonds, stock, etc.
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