Wednesday, July 28, 2010

AND, YOU DID'T EVEN GET A KISS

GE&P would like to take this opportunity to thank the 8000+ Dan Davis supporters (hereafter referred to as "THE 8000" ) for the fact that a County budget was adopted that, for the third year, takes 29% of our property tax relief, resulting in higher taxes for all BC citizens. To showcase just how unbelievably gullible "THE 8000" really were, let's look at another bit of history.

As the primary began to gear up, the Supervisor's race developed a few key issues. Among these, two were obviously developing 'legs', the taking of 29% of the property tax relief to fund BC government spending and the fact that Davis got a huge pay increase while forcing BC employees to take unpaid furlough days. Judging from public opinion at the time, these two issues possessed the power to scuttle the Davis reelection campaign. Common sense indicated the taking of the 29% would mean higher taxes. And, the records clearly indicated Davis had received a huge pay increase and the BC employees had been forced to take unpaid furlough days. It became obvious that no amount of lies could change these facts.

Most politicians would have hesitated to make any obvious reversals on their established policies so close to an election, realizing that the voters would see through any such efforts. But, Mr. Davis knew something that GE&P didn't know. Somehow he knew just how gullible and uninformed "THE 8000" really were. So, he went to work.

On 4/26/10, at a regular Council meeting, Mr. Davis' crack finance person announced some unbelievably good news. (The key word here is "unbelievably") It was announced that the county had "found" some money they didn't even know they had. Coincidentally, the amount of the extra money was exactly enough to cover the cost of the furlough days, $581,000. Glory Alleluia! How serendipitous was that? Just weeks before the election, Mr. Davis' uncanny leadership abilities had restored this lost income to the county employees. Mr. Davis and his supporters wasted no time in spreading the great news. Of course, this maneuver had absolutely nothing to do with removing a major negative campaign issue from the landscape. Good job but there was more work to be done.

On 5/19/10, Davis held a special Council meeting. At this meeting, the proposed budget was the main topic of discussion. The Conservatives on Council wanted to remove the taking of 29% of the property tax relief from the budget and find other ways (such as reducing the size of government) to fund county government spending. Mr. Davis was oh so cooperative and agreeable with this idea. As a result, the ordinance was written to exclude all of the 29% with the exception of $500,000 for matching funds for the Jedburg project. "THE 8000" were jubilant. Presto! Another negative campaign issue was removed from the table. However, GE&P, the Conservatives on Council, and 7000 informed voters saw through this ruse. All of us knew the final vote on the budget could be postponed until AFTER the election and the wording of the ordinance could be changed back to its original form at that time.

GE&P feels obliged to mention yet another fraudulent maneuver that was very carefully timed around the election. We assume you are all aware of the effort to establish an expanded nursing school at Trident Tech. Well, prior to the election, Mr. Davis was one of this effort's staunchest supporters. At least this appeared to be the case. His position on the issue secured a large number of Davis votes in the primary. Now that we have given the history of this fairy tale, we will spring forward to the present and focus on the way things really are.

COUNTY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING 7/26/10: As demonstrated by The Dark Side on Council, Robert's Rules of Order, County Council Rules, and Protocol are no longer applicable. (We should include common courtesy in this list) Dan Davis and his willing accomplices on Council literally butchered Parliamentary Procedure to accomplish their goals. The Dark Side amended the budget ordinance to reincorporate the 29% of our tax relief. (As we and others had predicted) To the amazement of many in attendance, the questionable tactic were
supported by the county's legal advisors. The procedural contortions demonstrated by The Dark Side during this process would have given any kangaroo court in history cause for envy. The end result of this embarrassing display of creative process was that Davis achieved his original goal of stealing 29% of the Property Tax relief from the citizens of BC. He didn't stop there.

The large group of organizers for the new Trident nursing school were at this Council meeting. It would be assumed they were there for a reason. GE&P learned from some members of this group that Mrs. Thornley expected to be called upon to make a speech. It is documented by his own words before the election, Mr. Davis supported funding the new school. Unfortunately, for the supporters of the school, this meeting and the passage of the budget took place after the election that secured Mr. Davis' position for another four years. Mr. Davis no longer requires the support of this voting block. GE&P has it on good authority that Mr. Davis now contends there is no money in the budget to fund the school.

The end result is there for everyone to see. Mr. Davis stole our Property Tax Relief just as he intended from the start. Mr. Davis has left the new Nursing School hanging out to dry. GE&P has two cautionary words for all County employees: FURLOUGH DAYS.





12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dave Munday, if you read this, this is how to do "INVESTIGATIVE" reporting!! By all means, please, please pass to your editor(s)!! Go ahead and maintain your honest and open relationship with Dan Davis and those of us who won't be manipulated will continue to get the REAL, FACTUAL, INVESTIGATED, ETC., story out to your readers!!

Capt Elaine Magliacane said...

It was amazing to watch the circus the other night... it was my first visit to BCC... wish I'd brought some popcorn, it was very entertaining... I suppose if I actually owned property in BC I'd not be nearly as amused... How are we EVER going to get the CROOKS out of Washington DC, if we can't get the scallywags out on a local level?

Anonymous said...

Have we yet gotten the approval of council to being the CDBG waterline that was started prior to the election without approval and without a contract?

Unknown said...

THIS SITE IS USELESS AND DIDNT CHANGE ONE THING, JUST CRY ON
CAUSE KING DAN RULES AND NOTHING
CHANGES. A 1.5% RAISE IS COMING FOR
EMPLOYEES

Nosy Woman from Cross said...

If you are referring to the Cooper Store Rd. line, yes, the contract was approved after the fact and the line is almost finished. As to whether any revenue will be realized from this line, your guess is as good as ours.

Nosy Woman from Cross said...

Capt Magliacane, We are very encouraged with the involvement of groups like the TEA Party and the 9/12ers. The more people get involved, the quicker things will improve. But, as long as we have people who are totally uninformed going to the polls to support "friends" or benefactors, we will continue to have negative results.

Nosy Woman from Cross said...

B, If abandoning the blog would fix this mess, we would be on the next flight to where-ever. As to the 1.5% pay raise, don't count your chickens.

Unknown said...

WE WILL SEE HOW WRONG YOU ARE SHORTLY, KEEP BUYING THEM BOILED
PEANUTS AT THE CORNER OF 311
AND CTY LINE ROAD, YOU WILL B
OK. KING DAN RULES BERKELEY CTY
AS IT SHOULD BE.
LONG LIVE THE KING!!!

Miss Piggy said...

B
You are out of your mind. That must be why you like Dan so much, you both think alike. So that you will know, Dan isn't king ,only God is

Unknown said...

Date: July 28, 2010

Re: COLA Increase


Berkeley County Council passed the 2011 fiscal year budget on July 26, 2010. The budget included a 1.5% COLA for most employees active on payroll after July 30, 2010. Full-time and part-time employees (with some exclusions) as defined in the personnel manual will receive the COLA. Employees generally classified as temporaries, students, seasonal or interns are not COLA eligible.

The effective date of the COLA is July 4, 2010. The increase will appear on your August 11, 2010 pay check. We encourage you to review your pay check on that date and to contact Human Resources or payroll if you have any questions.

Thank you for the contributions you have made throughout the year. The ability to offer a COLA was possible because of your hard work and dedication.
BAM, NOISY LADY WHO IS WRONG NOW?????????

Anonymous said...

B, what an insult! Employees should be happy when you take 1cent sales tax, 29% property tax, and 30% water & sanitation rate increase into consideration!!! Apparently, the leadership of Berkeley County must think their employees are a bunch of morons!! My employer gave ALL employees the increase regardless of their status, i.e., part-time, temporary, intermittent, or full-time!! Why not, they are all employees of the County? Go ahead, treat some employees differently - it makes for a totally happy and PODUCTIVE workforce!! What's the old saying, "you get what you pay for"!! What a pitiful display of so call "leadership"!! Come on Chip Bolin, you supposably taught "Leadership"!! Why don't you tell us all about the strong leadership skills/techniques of your supervisor, Dan Davis?? I bet after observing the actions of Dan Davis last Monday night, Trident Technical College can enhance their syllabus for "Leadership" Training with some more examples of "things not to do" when conducting a meeting!!!

Nosy Woman from Cross said...

B,
We have been very patient with you so far. Obviously, we need to remind you that this is not the P&C. We only post information that is of interest to our readers. If you have a mature comment to contribute, we are happy to post any thoughts you may have. We, nor our readers wish to waste time on useless drivel.