IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE anywhere but Albany where the majority of our elected officials can do as they please with our tax dollars because their constituency doesn’t pay taxes but demands entitlements and services as if they do. Our city manager made clear his priorities in the Herald. “According to Lott, the commission had two choices. The first would pull the funds out of the general fund. The second option would allow HUD to offset its annual appropriation of federal funding by the $374,715, which would greatly reduce the amount of money that funds social programs such as rental assistance. When asked by Commissioner Jon Howard what his recommendation would be, Lott said that there was too much of a need for the community development funding to siphon from that pot. “I would not recommend taking money from the HOME fund … there is too much of a need,” Lott said. “Those programs assist people who are, especially during a recession, in vital need of funds and help.” So we essentially doubled down on this particular fiasco by dipping into the general fund to pay off a failed community development project rather than paying for it from HUD funds. What a crock. When the minority pays the bills and the majority writes the checks the result is financial capriciousness.
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I’M SO SORRY THE church officials are “unwilling” to go along with any effort by the City to recover the money from them. What the heck does “unwilling” mean? I’m unwilling to pay taxes for a bunch of leeches to pretend to be community developers but you can bet if I don’t pay “unwilling” won’t cut it as an excuse. If the church has property the city should place a lien on it immediately or take whatever action is available to get our money back. The Albany Office of Community Development needs to go. Thank God they didn’t get the $16 million for the Heritage House debacle. I haven’t looked through the budget yet but we need to take a close look at where the money is coming from before handing out too many accolades. If we’re dipping into the MEAG money, reserves or revenue from fees paid by citizens then we really haven’t accomplished much.
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MR. DAVIS WILL GET away with his gun-toting, and knife-toting. But let it me you or me, and we would be wearing handcuffs and be charged with concealed weapons charges. He is no better than anyone else. Lock his butt up. You got to start somewhere, and since Buie got off so easy, start with Davis, then Lott, and then the good ole boy, Dr. Willie Adams. I call him that because I do not see where he has been a mayor.
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I’M SADDENED BY THE outright thievery of nearly $400,000 from the taxpayers of Albany doesn’t elicit overwhelming outrage from the citizens. The commission won’t even pretend to try to recoup the funds; saying the church is unwilling. Amazing, then we learn the same shameless commissioners are scheming to stuff their pockets with more of our tax dollars.
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NOTE ON THE BUDGET: Albany City Commissioner Tommie Postell is advocating raiding the MEAG funds to expand the gang unit. Looks like over $2 million over 10 years. Budgeting in Albany is a shell game.
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THE MEDIA SHOULD NEVER have been invited in during CRCT testing. That is a high-stakes test and having this local media there would certainly make a circus out of the process. The media already looks for every possible negative they can find about the school system and, frankly, ignores the thousands of positives on which they could report. I don’t blame the DCSS for changing their minds about allowing it. They are doing what is best the students.
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DOUGHERTY COUNTY SCHOOLS … THAT’S the Obama transparency. It doesn’t exist.
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WHAT’S WRONG WITH ALBANY City Commissioner Tommie Postell’s effort to collect cash instead in lieu of a health benefit is that Postell is choosing to not have the coverage. It is a benefit, not a right. The only obligation of the city, or any employer, is to equally offer the benefit to all; the choice is theirs to take it or not. Commissioner Postell is way off base here and thinks he is making an valid, logical argument; the fallacy in his argument is in his assumption that he has a RIGHT to the coverage. It is called a “benefit” instead of a “right” for a very specific reason. This is the same issue that has been debated ad nauseam in Washington over the past year – and they got it wrong! We should not fall into the same trap here in Albany – believe me it will trickle down through the system. You can make the argument that a society has a “moral obligation” to provide Health Care to it’s less fortunate (and I believe that to be true), but that still does not make it a right.
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REGARDING TIFTON LOSING MONEY in the Internet and cable business, local government should not try to compete with private industry. Lee County tried with broadband and lost every penny (actually a third of million) of taxpayers money even though we had private companies offering same service. Dumb move.
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WE SHOULDN’T BE PROUD that for once a new store opens and it’s not doing horrible? We shouldn’t be proud that it’s going to get national recognition? It’s not Cinnabon’s fault that people are overweight or diabetic. You are responsible for your own eating habits. Cinnabon is perfectly acceptable as a treat. No one is saying you should make it an every day thing or a staple in your diet. People are putting themselves at risk for heart disease, diabetes and obesity based on what they choose to incorporate into their diet, not based on Albany having a Cinnabon leading sales in the nation.
BUT IT’S OKAY WITH if the children are distracted just so you can have your transparency, right? It doesn’t matter that the tests are supposed to benefit the students as long as your sense of self-worth is satisfied.
