Latest
City Council Judgment: Roane County Taxpayers
Just
Don’t Count!
“It
is really unfortunate when one of the most expensive Governments in this state
can so easily turn away from its own citizens”
“Although
they represent a smaller portion of the population in Oak Ridge, Roane County
taxpayers absolutely do count!” said McBride. “ Our City
Council needs to focus on serving citizens’ interests, rather than
finding reasons to just stand there!”
Last evenings work session on the upcoming city budget, the
Oak Ridge City Council revealed that property assessments for Roane County
residents were about to increase by about 25%, while assessments for
neighboring Anderson County residents were only going up about half that much,
at 12%. There are similar homes in both areas and the tax advantage of Roane
County over Anderson County seems insufficient to explain such a large
difference. While there are homes in Roane County that are more-recent
and more-expensive, similar homes can also be found in Anderson County.
“The reason for such a large tax difference is not
obvious at first glance,” said Martin McBride. “How does one group of
houses appreciate at 12% and a similar group of homes next door go up 25%? If
there is a good explanation for this difference, the City Council offered none
last evening. Instead, the Council spent an inordinate amount of time
explaining how this was a County issue and not the Council’s problem.”
“I totally disagree. This is a matter that
affects a large number of Oak Ridge taxpayers. The city needs to step
forward and champion them. The matter should be looked into on a high
priority basis. In my opinion, city government (and the Oak Ridge City
Council) exist to serve citizens, not the other way around.”
“Here is a great way for the Council to boost trust and
confidence in government. Here is where they can demonstrate compassion
and interest in taxpayers. While it is certainly true that property assessment
is a county function, Oak Ridge government still has a large stake in the
matter. If there is a good explanation for the assessment difference,
then the city should help taxpayers understand it. The Council needs to
show that they care about their residents!”
The Council also seemed indifferent to a companion problem
last evening: enrollment at Oak Ridge’s premier school system was shown to have
dropped significantly this past year. “This makes a solid decade of
enrollment decline in our award-winning schools,” said McBride.
“Dropping enrollment in our schools is yet one more sign
that something is seriously wrong with the Oak Ridge economy,” said
McBride. “School enrollment should be expanding. The excellent track
record of the Oak Ridge Schools should be attracting new students like a
magnet. Here is another wake-up call that (unfortunately) seems to be falling
on deaf ears.”
“Oak Ridge’s excessive tax rate is not only harming our
economy, it is pulling down our wonderful schools. The Council needs to
turn and face these problems, if we are ever to get beyond them. This
city needs a Council who will take action---not just stand there making
excuses.”
On June 7, voters can take action and elect Martin McBride to
the Council. Contact Dr. McBride at (865) 482-5386 or at accountable@earthlink.net for
additional information. (Paid for by the McBride for Council Campaign,
David Miller, Treasurer. Contributions welcome.)
Candidate
Urges Oak Ridge Tax Cut with Increased Funding for Key City
Services!
“The
Oak Ridge City Council can do both by redirecting under-performing economic
development funds,” said Candidate Martin McBride
In a
startling move to limit public criticism, the Oak Ridge City Council announced
that henceforth, “political speech” will be banned from City
Council meetings!
Key
Election Question: Do Oak Ridge voters really want 4 more years of this
approach to government?
Last evening, Candidate Martin McBride urged the Oak Ridge
City Council to both reduce the city’s property tax rate and
increase funding for key city services (schools, police, and fire) during an
Oak Ridge City Council meeting.
The City Council has resisted reducing the city’s non-competitive
property tax rates during the last two years. The current budget proposal would
avoid a reduction this year. “Unfortunately, this “treading water”
approach is just not going to cut it as far as the city’s stumbling
economy goes. The Oak Ridge economy was damaged by years of excessive tax
rate increases. That earned us the unfortunate reputation as the “Tax
Capital of East Tennessee.” The only thing that can help now is to
reduce tax rates---if only by a little---each year.”
McBride also urged that the Council redirect low-performing
economic development monies towards key city services---services that have been
slowly starved over the last few years. “I am especially concerned
about funding for our great schools and for our city’s police and fire
functions,” said McBride. McBride noted that when asked by the media,
none of the current group of school board candidates running in the June’s
municipal election would endorse the proposed budget as “adequate.”
“This is not the way to build and keep top-flight schools,” he
said.
McBride also suggested that under-performing agreements
involving tax abatements be re-negotiated. “That would take a bit more
time to do---but it could provide some substantial city revenue (without
raising taxes.) And think of the incentive it would give to these activities to
get moving and perform!”
Over the last several years, the Council has committed
substantial amounts of money to fund a wide range of economic development
programs. Money for things like new city slogans ($130,000), city
lobbyists ($430,000 plus), and the Mall project (5 million dollars) have all
come at the expense of important city services, like schools, police, and fire
protection.
“Contrary to their initial claims, the city’s economic development
strategies have failed to boost the city’s economy,” McBride noted. “ It
is time for the Council to reconsider these funding decisions---and boost
support of things that aid the quality of Oak Ridge life. The
make-no-decision, “treading water” approach must be avoided, since it really
doesn’t accomplish much. The Council needs a realistic set of priorities
that support the services that citizens want.”
In an unrelated (and rather startling) move, Mayor David
Bradshaw announced that the rules committee of the City Council had determined
that “political speech” should be banned from the 3-minute citizen
comments that the Council allows during its meetings. The Mayor seemed to
hesitate as he explained the new policy, almost as though he himself was not
quite sure what the new rule actually meant.
“I could not believe it, when I heard the new rule.
Of course, I decided to conduct my own test,” laughed McBride. When
it came time for his 3 minutes, McBride started out by offering a compliment to
the council on the way they decisively answered a previous citizen’s
issue. “I was a declared political candidate making a political point
with my complements. In my book, that classifies the complements as
“political speech.”
”Since they allowed the comment, one concludes that “political speech” that
complements the City Council is OK. What is unacceptable is apparently
speech which is critical of Council decisions or policies---a very troubling
development.”
In 2002, a lack of understanding of citizen concerns caused a
city-wide tax revolt. “They did not see the tax revolt coming and the
lack of knowledge really hurt the city. Having gone through that trauma,
to see them now deliberately cut the lines of communication with their
citizens---this is unbelievable,” said McBride. “If I am elected
to the Council, I want to hear peoples concerns and criticisms---criticisms of
both council policies and of my personal performance. That is the
only way you can learn and improve!”
Oak
Ridge Federal Pension Issue Makes the Front Page of the
Tennessean!
Paper
Contrasts Plight of Many Oak Ridge Pensioners with Plans to Give Large State
Pensions to Those Implicated in the Bribery Scandal!
“When
I think about those involved with the state bribery scandal getting large state
pensions---I get angry,” said Martin
McBride. “We have WWII widows in Oak Ridge who sacrificed for this
nation and who are now forced to live on pensions of almost nothing!”
Today’s front-page story in
the Nashville Tennessean newspaper quotes a frustrated Martin McBride on the
question of state pensions for those implicated in that state bribery
scandal. “I could not believe it,” said McBride. State
government is talking about giving these guys very large pensions---and we have
WWII widows in Oak Ridge who are being forced to live on next to nothing.
It’s just not right.”
“To me, bribery is in the
same category as treason. Both destroy fundamental trust in
American government. Both are terrible crimes. Those implicated in
a bribery scandal should not get a dime!”
The Tennessean contacted
McBride last evening to ask for his reaction to the prospective state
pensions. “They were interested in the contrast between the proposed
state pensions to the rather meager pensions received by many Oak Ridge
seniors,” said McBride. “Oak Ridge seniors sacrificed to defend
our nation during WWII and the cold war. They struggle today on almost
nothing---while state government prepares to hand out large pensions to
officials in a bribery scandal. This is just not fair and it should not
be tolerated.”
The Tennessean news story is
available online at: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050603/NEWS0201/506030402
.
McBride has urged the Oak
Ridge City Council to aggressively champion the cause of federal contractor
pension reform. Those pensions currently affect an estimated 12,000
contractor retirees from the Oak Ridge federal nuclear complex. Many of
the pensions have been seriously eroded because they lack cost of living
adjustments. People who retired thirty years ago, for example, have seen
the Consumer Price Index rise by 266% over the years, yet their pensions have
remained essentially constant! WWII-Era widows in Oak Ridge are currently
trying to make ends meet on a pension of about $400 a month.
“These wonderful people
helped defend our nation and build this beautiful city---yet today they receive
pensions of almost nothing. The Oak Ridge pension problem can (and must)
be fixed.”
For more information on
efforts to reform Oak Ridge pensions, contact “CORRE” (Coalition of Oak Ridge
Retired Employees). The CORRE website is www.corre.info .
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