taxpayers Archive

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Terry Hart gets backing for Ward 5 commission seat: A ‘kiss of death’?

– September 30, 2009Posted in: Tom Knighton

The Dougherty County Taxpayers Association has officially thrown its lot behind former railroad executive Terry Hart in his bid for the Ward 5 Albany City Commission seat currently held by Bob Langstaff. Thursday night, the DCTPA made it official, though it was already a foregone conclusion that they would. Bob Langstaff is one seat they specifically targeted, and Hart is the only challenger.

We’ll find out how accurate Ward 5 City Commissioner Roger Marietta was when he allegedly referred to the group’s endorsement as “the kiss of death.”

Unfortunately for Commissioner Langstaff, Marietta may well be his worst liability. Recent comments likening the group to “domestic terrorists” wasn’t a good idea. Commissioner Marietta quickly apologized, saying he was taken out of context. Of course, the Albany Journal reports that he did it at least one more time. Yeah, not such a good thing.

But how does this impact Commissioner Langstaff? To start with, it built up animosity between DCTPA membership (and supporters who aren’t members) and the City Commission. A lack of any statement denouncing Marietta’s comments, or even a polite disagreement, from any other commissioner doesn’t help improve relations.

Time will tell whether or not this is going to be an issue. Bob Langstaff isn’t an easy target in the least. He’s not going to be easy to beat, make no mistake. However, I don’t think that a DCTPA endorsement is any kiss of death, especially in Ward 5 where more people own their homes than some other wards.

For Hart to win, he’s going to have to be vocal, engaged, be a hell of a candidate. I don’t know him personally, so I can’t say for certain that he’s any of those things. But we’ve got some time until the election, so we’ll see. It my intent to try and sit down with all candidates in the contested races so you can make an informed decision.

tomknightonWritten by Tom Knighton. Read his blog at SWGA Politics.com. A lifelong political junkie, Tom started out his adult life as a journalism major at Darton College before leaving school to serve his nation as a U.S. Navy Corpsman. Through the years, he has watched government from outside and inside. A former Reagan supporter, then later a Democrat, Tom now finds himself quite comfortable as a card carrying Libertarian and all around smart-elec.

Tags: city commission, elections, taxpayers, ward 5
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Our Perspective: Dougherty County Taxpayers group well-grounded

– August 25, 2009Posted in: Outlook

There’s a lot to be said about an organization that sticks with its mission. And there’s a lot to be said about an organization that gets better with age.

To the Dougherty County Taxpayers Association, whose mission is to educate and engage the citizenry while providing oversight and pursuing local government reform, we say this: You’ve come a long way, baby!

The association publicly surfaced when its small core of organizers read a newspaper account in 2006 of Albany City Manager Alfred Lott’s claim that, to balance the budget, property taxes had to be raised. The association responded by pointing out deficiencies in Lott’s budget; informing the shortsighted city manager about his healthy rainy-day fund (which had been accumulated through over-taxation); and exposing Lott’s failure to comply with the law requiring tax increases to be advertised.

The association won its first battle: The tax-raising financing plan was overwhelmingly rebuffed by the Albany City Commission. And this year, association volunteer Tim Coley spent thousands of dollars to successfully delay the postponement of the city leadership’s scheme to allow downtown manager/convicted felon Don Buie to administer a $6 million downtown revitalization program with no plan and no oversight.

The association has been defeated, too; most notably, the taxpayers failed to convince the courts to overturn Dougherty County’s incompetently administered property revaluations.

But with stick-to-it-ness, a strong core of volunteers and a city government gone amok, the association has a growing database of members, a modest bank account, and a ton of momentum entering this fall’s election. The endeavor is as comprehensive a “We the People” initiative as there’s been in Albany in more than a decade.

At its meeting last week, the association drafted a “Contract with the Citizens of Albany and Dougherty County”. It is the association’s – and our – hope that all elected officials and candidates will commit henceforth to pursue good government and, thus, will sign the contract. Here it is:

As an elected official of the citizens of Albany and Dougherty County Georgia, and in the interest of honest, transparent and responsible government due EVERY citizen, I hereby pledge to:

  1. Act in the collective best interests of our community and the public who elect me.
  2. Comply with the Constitution and all laws and legal regulations of the United States, the State of Georgia, and the City of Albany.
  3. Prudently spend the taxpayers’ money for worthy, non-wasteful projects and programs as if it were my own.
  4. Never grant nor accept special favors or privileges from peers or other officials in carrying out my duties as an elected official.
  5. Engage in no business with the government, either directly or indirectly, that benefits me financially or is otherwise inconsistent with the conscientious performance of my governmental duties.
  6. Never take advantage of inside, non-public information gained in furtherance of my duties as an elected official for the personal gain or profit of me, my friends or my family.
  7. Expose corruption wherever and whenever discovered.
  8. Assist the public with obtaining timely access to all records.
  9. To use my best efforts to decrease the tax burden for all citizens.

In the pursuit of these values, and my oath of office, I further pledge that I will always act: Proactively, Accountably, Transparently, Responsibly, Independently, Objectively and always Truthful.

Tags: alfred lott, don buie, dougherty, taxpayers
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Dougherty County Taxpayers group right on target

– August 19, 2009Posted in: Outlook

Last Thursday evening I attended a meeting of the Dougherty County Taxpayer’s Association. My friend, Dinorah Hall met me in the front of Merry Acres Conference Center in Albany.

“You had better get a seat while you can,” she told me. I looked in the room and there were more empty tables than there were people. I spoke to a few people and found a seat. As it grew closer to starting time, people kept coming in, and they kept coming in, and they kept coming in. By the time that the steering committee chairman, Richard Thomas, stepped up to the podium to start the meeting, every table was filled and there was standing room only.

There had to be more than 200 in attendance. Like the Freedom Line events in front of Sanford Bishop’s Offices in Thomasville that grew from a handful to several hundred, this group has also grown. It is a sign that every day citizens are telling the professional politicians that “We the People” set the course and direction for our lives and that the government is accountable to the people – not the other way around. This group is non partisan. (Note to my fellow GOP leaders – we had better pay attention to groups like the Tea Parties, Freedom Lines, and Taxpayer Associations. They formed because there has been a void in conservative leadership and they resent being presumed upon by any political party.)

Richard Thomas took a few minutes to remind the large group that there was a steering committee responsible for the growth and impact of this group. He thanked Hilliard Burt, Tim Coley, Kevin Hogencamp, Ethel Woodall, Dinorah Hall, B.J. Fletcher, Todd Hockman, Doug Miller, Clinton Miles, Jeremy Lynch, and Donnie and Lonnie Smith for investing hours of their time to make a difference.

If you have followed any of the news in Albany, you know that there have been serious questions about the management of funds for downtown development. Richard Thomas and other speakers repeatedly made the point that they were not opposed to downtown development. They are opposed to handing taxpayers’ funds to people who had not proven to be good stewards of the funds. Let me offer a personal observation. Agencies or individuals who mismanage often try to shift the focus away from their own accountability by accusing those who question them of being against a good cause. The truth is that the agency or individual who mismanages is the real culprit and the one really against the good cause.

The Dougherty County Taxpayers Association is not just holding a big gripe session. They are taking definitive action.

First, they are calling on the members of the City Commission to rescind the six million dollar bond issue. This is common sense. Get someone to show faithfulness in the small things before borrowing six million dollars and handing it to them. At this point, the track record of downtown development is on the side of the Dougherty County Taxpayers Association.

Second, they are actively recruiting candidates to run for city commission. At the sign-in table, there were maps of the city with the wards open for election this year highlighted on the maps. They had suggestion cards for names of people who would be good candidates for office. They are giving away brooms to sweep the city clean. If you are an incumbent city commissioner up for election this year, you would be wise to listen to them. They don’t want to fight with you, they just want you to look at the facts and represent them – not the status quo or government employees. These are solid citizens who care about their community. I would not want them recruiting someone to run against me.

Third, they drafted a contract with the citizens of Albany and Dougherty County for elected officials and candidates to sign. This is a great model for any group or party.

I think that they are right on target. Incumbent city commissioners should take the time to meet with some of their leaders and listen to their concerns. Check out their Website. www.notemoretax.net. They are worthy of your support. We moved from Albany a few years ago and now live in Cordele but I am making a financial investment in this group today. I encourage you to consider doing the same.
written by Don Cole.

Don Cole is 2nd Congressional Disrict chairman of the Georgia Republican Party’s

Tags: dougherty, taxpayers
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Taxpayers association may sue ADICA board members for neglecting their fidiciary responsibility

– August 19, 2009Posted in: Politics

Here’s a statement from Richard Thomas, co-chairman of the Dougherty County Taxpayers Association. If anyone wants a copy of the resolutions in question, e-mail me at ajournal@thealbanyjournal.com — Kevin Hogencamp

Richard Thomas statement:

I am attaching a copy of the Legislative resolutions that hold the ADICA Board members (as fiduciary trustees) jointly and severally liable for their past actions of malfeasance and mismanagement. I will be making a brief statement to the Board this afternoon (if allowed) on behalf of the DCTPA requesting each of their resignations if they expect to avoid potential personal and joint litigation relating to their culpability to the taxpayers of this community.

I will recommend that they consult with the ADICA attorney (Jay Reynolds) as to what extent he views them as being liable (as is noted in the statutory language of the Act that created them in 1977) . They of course can re-apply for an appointed board seat to the City Commission, however the City Commission should be aware of their culpability in any such reappointment. Having some experience in the fiduciary liability of trustees in an estate planning capacity, it is my opinion their capacity as “trustees” binds them to a standard that is far removed from their
past and present performance, and the “prudent man rule” which governs the behavior of all trustees.

Commissioner Langstaff has alluded to the fact that since they are a state created entity, only the state can take action. If that is true, then I know of no other way to compel them to step down other than exposing to them their fiduciary liability as “trustees” of the public’s funds.

Tags: ADICA, taxpayers