Welcome to the First Coast Tea Party
BREAKING NEWS: YOUR PROPERTY TAXES WILL GO UP
I have just returned from the City Council meeting where they voted to raise our property taxes again for the second time in two years.
This was not a surprise. We saw it coming and we heard some disturbing comments over the weeked which we decided to hold back. We held them back because we wanted to see if the council members would prove those statements wrong. They didn't.
Last weekend, it was brought to our attention that local lobbyists were caught laughing at an event about the tea party bringing people to the city council chambers. They said, "They can bring 1,000 people down there and it will not make a difference. The deal is done."
It appears those lobbyists were right.
Here's what the lobbyists and our city leaders do not understand.
Scott Rasmussen, an independent pollster, stated recently, "The Tea Party Movement is not a flash in the pan, as many have assumed. Nor is it a movement of racist rednecks and ignorant boobs, as its detractors have crudely suggested. To the contrary, it is an authentic grassroots movement of concerned American citizens demanding to be heard by an out-of-touch political establishment. Their concerns are real and their issues are legitimate."
When you showed up last night and voiced your concerns one after another in a professional and dignified way - you let the city leaders know the Tea Party Movement has come to town. While we have focused most of our efforts on the federal level, it is now apparent we must spend some time with our city leaders too. They evidently do not understand their job has changed because the economy has changed. We do not have money to burn and if we are cutting at home, they should be cutting too.
Candidly, I wanted to poke my eyes out a couple of times as I watched the questions asked and people scurrying to find the answers and then watching them explain that we can't do this because of this and because if you do this this will happen and then you have this and if do that then we have to do this. I understand why the city council members caved!! They could not get a straight answer from anyone. And they call us "ignorant boobs!"
There are many complex issues to this budget and many moving parts that even the city council members could not understand. We demand and expect that the budget process and the way our money is spent should be simplified and transparent. It should not require 4 rows of people on hand to explain to the city council what the numbers mean. Nor making calls during the meeting here and there to find out what the numbers mean.
The final vote was 11-7 and here are the votes for 2010-557 (Budget)
Yea: Corrigan, Fussell, Gaffney, Holt, Hyde, Jones, Joost, R. Brown, Shad, Webb, D. Brown
Nay: Bishop, Clark, Crescimbeni, Johnson, Lee, Redman, Yarbough
Please contact those who voted No and thank them.
Please contact those who voted Yes and ask them to put into writing Why they did? They should be willing to do that and if they don't it will tell you alot about them.
So what now? A plan is in the works for continued relationship building and accountability with our city council and other city leaders.
In the meantime, if you have experience in running an organization and have been a success at your endeavors, we encourage you to consider running for city leadership. We will not be focusing on those races until the November election is done. When November 3 hits, we will be looking at local political opportunities and encouraging leaders to stand up and help us fix the financial mess we are presently wallowing in.
If we do not find a way out of the tax and spend mentality, we might as well put a "Closed for Business" sign on the interstate -- because no business in their right mind would want to build a business here.
We wish the city leaders had heard from Rick Santelli who recently ranted again. We're with you, Rick!
Views: 40
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Comment by Kay Ragan Durden on September 29, 2010 at 8:55pm
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There are good men and women to take the place of the ones that voted for it. We must find them, so start looking!!! Let's be sure to thank the ones that stood there ground!
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Comment by Ron on September 29, 2010 at 7:45pm
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Tell those lobbyists they will soon be dealing with We The People.
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Comment by Patricia M. McBride on September 29, 2010 at 6:57pm
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Arthur, I lived in such a place before I moved here (and it is still like that). It is a little farm town on the coast of Rhode Island on the point right across from Newport. The grave yard actually has John Smith's daughter buried in it. The little town center has all the things you need (a general store, post office, library, town hall and historic society). The small common has a big white congregational church and graveyard in the center and the 4th of July parade goes around the common 2 times. In the summer, when all the summer people came, the farmers and people with strawberries and raspberries and big home gardens put veggies and fruits on a table by the road with a can for money and some extra to make change (still). Even the summer people follow the rules and no one steals anything or doesn't pay. Once in a while I wouldn't bring enough money and would leave a note saying I would come back the next morning and put in the rest of what I owed which was fine. One of the farmers used to have me on his call list in the fall for bushels of tomatoes, peppers etc for canning and freezing; it was a wonderful place to raise children as there was not a chance they could get into trouble as there was no place to get into trouble. They could go to the town beach, and that was about it or fish.
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Bryan, run for your district and not at large. At least one of the mayoral candidate is going to eliminate 4 of the at large seats (I have no idea why we have 5 to start with when all we need is a tie breaker). There is at least one at large democrat that also voted no on the budget and no on the tax increase, and he is also extremely nice to anyone who writes to him and always sends more info than you ask for most of the time. He is also one of the council members that shows up at all the town halls as do the other no votes (amazing isn't it?). The rest of them do not go to town halls............guess they are too busy with the lobbyists :)
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Comment by Arthur Crounse on September 29, 2010 at 6:42pm
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At age 67years I would consider old man, yet, I would give my life to go back Thoes days. The life as my mom and dad had with open doors , never locked and if you had a car at that time door was unlocked.. You did not have to lock the door, as it was safe. This goverment has gone to hell and few have any values that were founded on one word (GOD)
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Buddy, it is far worse than that and the number would really make you angry. I have been very vocal and don't really need to know about the lobbyists as one of the people at the finance committee meeting said right out in front of everyone at the meeting that they had someone come in and speak for them (lobbyist). I don't feel one bit bad telling the world they took the side of the lobbyists. No one thought a second thing about it and suspect the bus drivers (who get more than our policemen) and had the nerve to threaten to strike if they didn't get their demands, (which they did by the way via the city council one more time) probably used someone very smooth to convey the message also. They really need to privatize the public bus system in the city anyway, and hopefully the new mayor will make some moves towards privatizing some things and eliminating some of the leaches the taxpayer is currently being the host for.
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Comment by Steven D.Upshaw on September 29, 2010 at 5:56pm
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Robert, I agree with you 100% . But you are already in a revolution it is a peaceful one, for now.
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Don't pay the increase!!! Don't pay it!!!
Jacksonville is now $52 million in dept, next year $110 million, in the year 2012, $240 million just in pensions. You are going to see our property taxes, and all other Government fees double in the next few years.
Results from an Action News poll. 93% of Jax homeowners are against any property tax increase. Don't pay the increase!!! Don't pay it!!! Let's all stick together and pay only the same amount of property tax we paid last year. This way we can show our city government that we won't take any more tax increases until our City and JEA cut’s their salaries, pensions, appointed AMIO positions that’s 11.2 million a year, accumulative sick leave, personal use for police, fire and other city vehicles, trips to Paris, and insufficient personal,
Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. THOMAS JEFFERSON
Are you with me? I didn't think so.
Have we become a bunch of gutless bleeding heart wimps that’s afraid to stand up and fight City Government and a Judicial System that operates on a severe retarded level?
Now don't be mean to our City leaders! For all you know they could be mentally impaired... Discrimination against disabilities is illegal.
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Citizens of District 5 Art Shad is your city councilman he voted yes to raise your property taxes. Make sure you thank him at the poll when he comes up for reelection. There is no reason to call and ask him why. He went against the will of the voters, it is plain he doesn't care what the people want. He is the wrong man for the job.
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Comment by Ron Ogletree on September 29, 2010 at 5:20pm
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Keep this on the front burner but on simmer. Let's get through November 2nd with our focus where it needs to be for right now. At the Tea Party victory celebtration at the Landing on the evening of the second, is the time to start our clarion call to energize for the local. God willing, we will have a little over two months before the 112th Congress will be sworn in with a conservative Speaker and Senate Majority Leader. I'll throw my 2 cents worth in for the new mayor Mike Hogan.
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