By Floyd Bayne
This Wednesday the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the proposed real estate tax increase. I plan to be there. In the meantime I would ask that each of you call or e-mail your representative on the board and make them aware of your feelings on the matter. We may yet be able to sway enough votes to avoid yet another tax increase.
CLICK HERE TO CONTACT THEM
I sent this message to ALL the board members (feel free to copy):
Mr. Holland,
With the final vote(?) on a proposed real estate tax increase coming this Wednesday, I just wanted to make it clear that I do not accept the notion that there is "no place to cut" in the budget.
As an example of a place to cut, and knowing that there are other such areas that can be cut, I offer the following (Thank you to the Chesterfield Taxpayers Alliance):
DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THESE CHESTERFIELD EXPENDITURES AND ACTIONS?
SCHOOL DIVISION (CCPS)
1. Paid $533,309 (average more than $476 per hour) to two former superintendents (Bosher and Cannaday) whose contracts required they be available for consulting 10 days per year for seven years after they retired. Kept them on school’s payroll issuing bimonthly checks although they were no longer employees, but independent contractors. Value received by taxpayers for this expense: nothing that can be documented. There were “some conversations” according to school officials. Wouldn’t you like to get paid for conversations after you retire?
a. Amount to be paid to Superintendent Newsome under similar arrangement? More than $310,000 ($775+ per hour or 163% of hourly rate paid to Bosher and Cannaday) based on Dr. Newsome’s 2013 salary. Actual payout will be higher after adjustment for raises between 2013 and his retirement.
Now this is just one example of many that shows that the county has done as the federal government and state government have done, gone way overboard on spending. I submit that should you insist on increasing our taxes we, the voters of Chesterfield, will remember come next election.
Stop telling us that there is no place to cut when any intelligent person can see that there are myriad areas that can be cut. I can only hope that commonsense and true fiscal responsibility prevail.
Sincerely,
Floyd Bayne
