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Your thoughts for community topics
Prayers for Flannagin family
"Our heartfelt prayers go out to the family of Bruce Flannagin, who was tragically killed in a wreck on Christmas Eve. Mr. Flannagin was en route to visit his parents when the wreck occurred, and he left behind a loving wife (Noellani) and two children, (Nick and Leilani), all of whom have many friends in town. May God bless this family during this difficult time."
City leaders doing good job
"You know, there are a lot of city workers, church members, city council members, school board members, and school employees that you paint as inept and unable to function without your stamp of approvable. This is just not reality. There are many good people, good workers, and effective leaders in our town. They don't and we don't need your constant carping and criticism. It just does not accomplish anything. For some reason, you seem to have a vendetta against everything and everyone. Get over your constant bad mood. Are there things that should and could be changed? Certainly there are, but you are only inflaming and irritating those you wish would change. You are guilty of trying to micro-manage everything. All your insinuating remarks and inflammatory remarks about your money being mishandled sound like the people that give $5 to an organization and expect to control it. Get over your perpetual bad mood. You are the squeaky hinge that is unhinged."
School petition circulating?
"Petitions have been put out in convenience stores in Hartselle, asking the city council to delay the property tax increase referendum until the general election in August. The petition is not, in any form, to stop the vote. It is merely a concerted effort to save the city or the school system approximately $15,000. There is no reasonable excuse for the taxpayers to pay for two elections in the same year, when you can have this referendum placed on the general election ballot, at little, or no extra cost.”
Trimming the budget
"You asked if a non-supporter of the tax would vote for it, if it would be earmarked for maintenance and renovation" Absolutely, unequivocally, no. I cannot and will not vote to allow any of these current school board members access to any more additional money. They made up my mind the night that they told the city council that there was "nothing" that could be trimmed from their budget to allow them to help pay for the new school. Nothing, nil, nada, anywhere in their budget. If you believe that let me sell you some ocean front property here in Hartselle. Every budget, whether it is municipal of a school system, and even private sectors, has enough pork in it to hold a barbeque. Of the 27 million dollar current budget, you can bet there is very close to a 1/2 million in pork. There are many, many personnel that are overpaid. For the money we are paying for their expertise and experience, our school system should be the number one in the state. "
No new taxes
"How long do we have to continue riding this carousel? New taxes won't pass, Alcohol sales won't pass (is anyone even trying to get a petition signed on this now?). People moan about the council spending money to buy and improve land by the interstate (even though the potential is there to reap benefits from a development). I wouldn't blame the council one bit for increasing the sales tax. They can do that without a vote. Maybe they could take that money and continue to work on improvements to bring in new business (What about the next Industrial Park to follow Mallard-Fox?) It's obvious they are going to have to do things without the help of the citizens of Hartselle.”
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