Sometimes the world of budgeting is something to behold in government, where the slight of hand is sometimes more agile than on a Las Vegas stage. Many times it becomes a matter of whose projections do you believe or whether some funds are included or not.
I am not prone to agree with U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby every day of the week, but he was certainly right this week to warn the Alabama Legislature not to base its budgets this year on what is coming from Washington. But of course, that is what is happening. Last year, there were rosy projections in time for the election, and some say that the governor was the one making the rosy projections that time. At any rate, the Legislature signed on to it as well, and we wound up with a shortfall. Now we have school proration and we are already digging out of the rainy day accounts.
But the byword from any number of cities, counties and states is to wait for the stimulus package. It has been described in such terms that, depending on the version you like, it will fund everything your heart desires, and that includes the hearts of career politicians who want to cover up their losses and hand out the pork. The real effect was to help out the economy, and you can see by Tuesday's near 400 point drop there are a few skeptics in that arena.
Of course, things get more diverse in Walker County. The Jasper City Council appears to be headed down the right path as it meets at noon Thursday to consider ways to trim items and as it has already passed a three month freeze on non-budgeted spending items. If it does get stimulus money, it will likely be used for projects that are already engineered and are ready to go. No one can blame the city and they are good projects. We just hope from the federal standpoint that these projects can create some construction or other jobs. It does not appear the city, at this point, is plugging leaks with stimulus money. That cannot be said of Montgomery, where two new Democratic congressman from Alabama have already been publicly blasted by the AEA for voting against the stimulus, taking away their precious education budget funding.
Then there is the Walker County Commission, which is getting just under $2 million in funds just from the license fees for bingo halls. And the best part is we have no plan on how to use the money in the wake of the commission got rid of the rules and we have to keep in mind the court still has to rule on whether electronic bingo is legal. It has its own stimulus package, but all it really stands to stimulate is illegal gambling rather than any set need. At the very least it may at least help out the county’s General Fund for a while, and the county has plugged up that borrowing that got it in trouble a while back and seems not to be in dire shape. But we would feel better if the commission held a meeting like the one Jasper is holding. We would feel better if all local governments had such a meeting to review their current budgets rather than depend on pie-in-the-sky bailouts that may not last forever.
In short, government finds funny ways to fund itself these days. How funny it remains a year from now when these budgets get executed and there is no more free lunches to fill the lunch pail.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
several shows archived
We have still had some problems learning the saving mechanism for putting shows in the archive section of www.walkercountyradio.com, but we think we are overcoming it today. WJLX station manager Brett Elmore tells me it should be easier now (I saw a little conferencing today about where to save what computer file). On Tuesday afternoon the shows for Friday, Monday and Tuesday were posted on the Web site. You should also still be able to stream the broadcasts live by way of the Web site. I'm sorry about the confusion, but we're getting there. Enjoy.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Vote yes in the referendum
Tuesday Jasper voters will go to the polls...well, at least a small number of them. There is not expected to be a large turnout for the Jasper City Schools tax referendum.
It was be easy to roll over and do other things, but Jasper residents have to realize that the schools have a tough enough situation as it is, with proration and budget cuts. As things stand, Gov. Bob Riley may empty out the rainy day fund and take some from a stimulus package to make do this year, but if the economy worsens, it could be a disaster in the coming school year. School administrators across the state are counting every penny they can.
As it would turn out, the 2.5-mill tax which was put on years ago is coming up for renewal to keep for the next three decades. It raises $338,000 a year for the purpose of maintenance and construction. Already, the school system is shelving plans for now to build a new Walker High until the economy improves. The only reason voters are now seeing improvements at local elementary schools is because of a state bond issue that was approved a couple of years ago that did not require any payback by the local authorities.
In other words, under tight times, the tax will likely be used more for maintenance (painting, etc.), small construction projects and emergencies which could occur. Don't wish for them not to occur, because we've seen fires, tornadoes and other problems. If something happens in the current economic mess, we would be in a real pickle.
No taxes would be increased under this proposal and the millage is needed anyway to keep the minimum required in each county under state law. Turning down this millage would be a disaster on top of a disaster.
Please, if you live in the city of Jasper and are a registered voter, go to your normal voting place for about five minutes and vote yes for the continuation of the 2.5-mill tax.
It was be easy to roll over and do other things, but Jasper residents have to realize that the schools have a tough enough situation as it is, with proration and budget cuts. As things stand, Gov. Bob Riley may empty out the rainy day fund and take some from a stimulus package to make do this year, but if the economy worsens, it could be a disaster in the coming school year. School administrators across the state are counting every penny they can.
As it would turn out, the 2.5-mill tax which was put on years ago is coming up for renewal to keep for the next three decades. It raises $338,000 a year for the purpose of maintenance and construction. Already, the school system is shelving plans for now to build a new Walker High until the economy improves. The only reason voters are now seeing improvements at local elementary schools is because of a state bond issue that was approved a couple of years ago that did not require any payback by the local authorities.
In other words, under tight times, the tax will likely be used more for maintenance (painting, etc.), small construction projects and emergencies which could occur. Don't wish for them not to occur, because we've seen fires, tornadoes and other problems. If something happens in the current economic mess, we would be in a real pickle.
No taxes would be increased under this proposal and the millage is needed anyway to keep the minimum required in each county under state law. Turning down this millage would be a disaster on top of a disaster.
Please, if you live in the city of Jasper and are a registered voter, go to your normal voting place for about five minutes and vote yes for the continuation of the 2.5-mill tax.
Quick Review: Taken
I was going to see a comedy Monday at the Cobb Movies 4, but I was talked into seeing "Taken" instead, with Liam Neeson as a retired and divorced government agent who tries to get close to his teenage daughter. She takes an overseas trip to Paris, and, Natalie Holloway style, things go wrong when she and her girl friend are kidnapped. Daddy is overseas in a flash to find her. Frankly, you do need to leave some of your brains at home on this one, as bodies fall like the autumn leaves and no one ever gets arrested, even Neeson, who takes revenge at such turns that Interpol would be kept busy for a year with hardly a scratch on him. (Some of international bad-guy cliches and the fact an American can essentially be a cowboy and kill half of Europe probably won't win fans overseas. However, the basic premise of kidnapping for the result of human trafficking and prostitution is a very real problem.) But the situation is set up where you care about the girl and the father, and what parent would not want revenge and have the skills that this father has? It is a satisfying thriller that, warts and all, will please audiences and scare parents into NEVER letting their underage children go overseas.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Ed's scheduled guests for February
Sorry I have not been very faithful about blogging this past week as much of my time was devoted to getting adjusted to the new 2 p.m. show on WJLX, AM 1240, that aired its first week. I will try to do better in the near future.
For now, here is the current list of guests that we have lined up over February...
Monday, Feb. 9: Dr. Robert Sparkman, superintendent of Jasper City School's will discuss the school system's citywide vote on Tuesday to extend property mills for school construction projects.
Tuesday, Feb. 10: Todd Hunter, Bucky Rizzo and Johnny Sims will discuss their roles as chaplains in local hospices, which involves ministering to the dying.
Wednesday, Feb. 11: Circuit Clerk Susie Odom talks about improvements made in her office in recent months.
Thursday, Feb. 12: County engineer David Edgil discusses the state of the county's roads and bridges.
Friday, Feb. 13: Greg Williams, the head of the Walker County Bar Association, will discuss the legal profession.
Monday, Feb. 16: Congressman Robert Aderholt will join us again by phone to discuss news out of Washington. Paul Kennedy, the executive director of the Walker Area Community Foundation, will discuss local projects, including a personal project to start a community garden at the old airport in Jasper.
Tuesday, Feb. 17: Kenneth Bobo, the new police chief of Cordova, will be our guest.
Wednesday, Feb. 18: Lona Courington of the Walker County Red Cross will discuss various projects in advance of Red Cross Month in March, including plans for a homeless shelter. Jennifer Williams Smith will also discuss her project for a Dream Team baseball project to create a countywide non-competitive baseball team for challenged young players.
Thursday, Feb. 19: David Jones of the Capstone medical clinic in Parrish will discuss that facility's services.
Friday, Feb. 20: Open
Monday: Feb. 23: Financial consultant Hal Holland of the Red Mountain Bank in Birmingham will discuss dealing with the stock market and investing in these turbulent times.
Tuesday, Feb. 24: Open.
Wednesday, Feb. 25: Parrish Mayor Wayne Gross will discuss what has been going on in the city since his new administration took over in November.
Thursday, Feb. 26: Open.
Friday, Feb. 27: Ezekiel Nichols, an economics instructor at the University of Alabama and Shelton State Community College, will make a return visit to discuss the local, state and national economic situation.
For now, here is the current list of guests that we have lined up over February...
Monday, Feb. 9: Dr. Robert Sparkman, superintendent of Jasper City School's will discuss the school system's citywide vote on Tuesday to extend property mills for school construction projects.
Tuesday, Feb. 10: Todd Hunter, Bucky Rizzo and Johnny Sims will discuss their roles as chaplains in local hospices, which involves ministering to the dying.
Wednesday, Feb. 11: Circuit Clerk Susie Odom talks about improvements made in her office in recent months.
Thursday, Feb. 12: County engineer David Edgil discusses the state of the county's roads and bridges.
Friday, Feb. 13: Greg Williams, the head of the Walker County Bar Association, will discuss the legal profession.
Monday, Feb. 16: Congressman Robert Aderholt will join us again by phone to discuss news out of Washington. Paul Kennedy, the executive director of the Walker Area Community Foundation, will discuss local projects, including a personal project to start a community garden at the old airport in Jasper.
Tuesday, Feb. 17: Kenneth Bobo, the new police chief of Cordova, will be our guest.
Wednesday, Feb. 18: Lona Courington of the Walker County Red Cross will discuss various projects in advance of Red Cross Month in March, including plans for a homeless shelter. Jennifer Williams Smith will also discuss her project for a Dream Team baseball project to create a countywide non-competitive baseball team for challenged young players.
Thursday, Feb. 19: David Jones of the Capstone medical clinic in Parrish will discuss that facility's services.
Friday, Feb. 20: Open
Monday: Feb. 23: Financial consultant Hal Holland of the Red Mountain Bank in Birmingham will discuss dealing with the stock market and investing in these turbulent times.
Tuesday, Feb. 24: Open.
Wednesday, Feb. 25: Parrish Mayor Wayne Gross will discuss what has been going on in the city since his new administration took over in November.
Thursday, Feb. 26: Open.
Friday, Feb. 27: Ezekiel Nichols, an economics instructor at the University of Alabama and Shelton State Community College, will make a return visit to discuss the local, state and national economic situation.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Ed's broadcast now streamed, archived
Just a quick post to confirm that "Talk of the Town" on WJLX has worked out the bugs. The show can now be streamed live off the Internet off www.walkercountyradio.com, and it can be listened to later in the day or for several more days in the archive section. Amanda Blackwood tonight confirmed she was able to stream it off the Internet, and I checked out the archive myself tonight. (Of course, that meant I paid the price by listening to that voice of mine that seems like it can't quite get itself out of my lungs.) Anyway, my thanks to WJLX and Brett Elmore for attending to this quickly. Also, my thanks to a number of people who have had kind words to say about the broadcast and who recognize what we are trying to do for the county.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
State of the State Address
Well, things at Alabama Public Television were so bad this year that a satellite hookup went awry and we lost the entire speech this year. APT filled in time until 7 p.m. and then plugged a live economic summit they were hosting later in the evening...and then one of the anchors signed off forgetting one of the four main guests as he was ticking off the list. Considering we pay a lot in pledges for this service, it was not a good night for us, the consumer and taxpayer.
You can read the full address at this link, by the way:
http://www.governorpress.state.al.us/pr/sp-2009-02-03-sos2009.asp. But here is the shortened Readers Digest version, the Gospel According to Ed:
It is interesting to not that out of five pages of address I printed out, one-fifth of the speech addressed gambling and gambling taxes, a subject we deal with in Walker County a lot. With calls out for a tax on gambling to help pay education, Riley said that the current proposals would only bring in less than 1 percent of the $12 billion in state and federal money that Alabama spends on education. Moreover, he pointed out that other states that do have gambling are cutting their education budget, so he labeled as bogus the claim that expanding gambling and taxation would result in not having to reduce education funding.
"The real question is: are we willing to invite more misery, more corruption and more crime in our state just to get less than 1 percent? I know I'm not and the people aren't either. Ladies and gentlemen, gambling is not the answer," Riley said.
"The Legislature has been polarized and paralyzed by the issue for years. And yet again, the most power special interests have gotten together and they are determined to make this the number one issue for this session. But you shouldn't waste another minute trying to expand gambling. Certainly not when more important issues demand your attention, like creating jobs, making government more honest, and protecting educational achievements."
Likely the Legislature won't do anything, but some will try. It is good that Riley is taking the stand to prevent a terrible official link to gambling. I once thought the state should try to get what they can, but I now feel it would only justify something that probably is not legal in the first place, and for something that would not really give a reasonable amount of funds. I frankly don't see the bingo halls giving their fair share to charities, and a small state tax won't make up for that shortcoming, nor for all the social ills that they bring. (Then again, I don't suspect we'll see many full-page ads in local papers asking for a state tax on themselves...and if they do, it will be confirmation that the revenue would be a drop in the bucket to what they are currently raking in.)
Riley opened the speech telling Alabamians their state government took steps so that the state is weathering the economic storm much better than other states. He recited a number of statistics about the state: business climate ranked in the top 3, ranked fourth for people moving into the state, seventh lowest in foreclosure rates, 383 new and expanding industry announcements in the past 12 months, more than 14,000 announced new jobs in the past 12 months, and so on. He said last month a panel of economists said Alabama "is poised to come out ahead of the nation as the broken economy mends."
He said the state could not wait on Congress to pass a stimulus plan. (I imagine legislators will disagree as some have talked about postponing the budgets until a special session later this year.) He shocked no one by not calling for higher taxes but for fiscal discipline. He called for a back-to-work tax credit of $500 to encourage companies to hire unemployed workers. He wants a targeted job creation tax credit of $1,500 over three years for each new job created in counties with the highest unemployment levels, citing the Black Belt and rural counties in general. (He didn't mention what the cut off point would be.) Frankly, every little bit helps -- and why aren't such measures already on the books?
As expected, he made a pitch to protect some of his cherished education initiatives, including the Alabama Reading Initiative and some involving math and science and distance learning. Those programs are popular and effective, but that could be difficult in proration. Most salaries are protected, after all. If we start protecting programs, even popular ones, I have an awful feeling that toilet paper in schools will be replaced by sales catalogs. (More appropriate would be pages from some of these bureaucratic reports that bog down educators every year.)
He asked for "a complete overhaul" of the state's ethics laws, the first major rewrite since 1973. He did not link it to any scandals, but there have been plenty to go around in the state to warrant such action.
"It gives citizens a clearer picture of the money being spent to influence public policy and public officials. No longer will there be unlimited wining and dining by the special interests," Riley said. "This reform ends that. And it requires full disclosure of everything spent by lobbyists on elected officials."
He said conflicts of interests are disclosed and public officials will have to disclose ownership or contacts with any entity that gets state funds, and the same would go for their spouses. Moreover, the Ethics Commission for the first time would have subpoena power, with the attorney general or district attorneys given a reasonable amount of time to prosecute or to state they decline to prosecute.
In the end, it was modest by the number of items asked for (or in the case of gambling, not asked for), but it amounted to a good request in a year where there is not much money to go around.
Then again, I have an awful feeling APT is going to request more funds. I don't even know what to say about that.
You can read the full address at this link, by the way:
http://www.governorpress.state.al.us/pr/sp-2009-02-03-sos2009.asp. But here is the shortened Readers Digest version, the Gospel According to Ed:
It is interesting to not that out of five pages of address I printed out, one-fifth of the speech addressed gambling and gambling taxes, a subject we deal with in Walker County a lot. With calls out for a tax on gambling to help pay education, Riley said that the current proposals would only bring in less than 1 percent of the $12 billion in state and federal money that Alabama spends on education. Moreover, he pointed out that other states that do have gambling are cutting their education budget, so he labeled as bogus the claim that expanding gambling and taxation would result in not having to reduce education funding.
"The real question is: are we willing to invite more misery, more corruption and more crime in our state just to get less than 1 percent? I know I'm not and the people aren't either. Ladies and gentlemen, gambling is not the answer," Riley said.
"The Legislature has been polarized and paralyzed by the issue for years. And yet again, the most power special interests have gotten together and they are determined to make this the number one issue for this session. But you shouldn't waste another minute trying to expand gambling. Certainly not when more important issues demand your attention, like creating jobs, making government more honest, and protecting educational achievements."
Likely the Legislature won't do anything, but some will try. It is good that Riley is taking the stand to prevent a terrible official link to gambling. I once thought the state should try to get what they can, but I now feel it would only justify something that probably is not legal in the first place, and for something that would not really give a reasonable amount of funds. I frankly don't see the bingo halls giving their fair share to charities, and a small state tax won't make up for that shortcoming, nor for all the social ills that they bring. (Then again, I don't suspect we'll see many full-page ads in local papers asking for a state tax on themselves...and if they do, it will be confirmation that the revenue would be a drop in the bucket to what they are currently raking in.)
Riley opened the speech telling Alabamians their state government took steps so that the state is weathering the economic storm much better than other states. He recited a number of statistics about the state: business climate ranked in the top 3, ranked fourth for people moving into the state, seventh lowest in foreclosure rates, 383 new and expanding industry announcements in the past 12 months, more than 14,000 announced new jobs in the past 12 months, and so on. He said last month a panel of economists said Alabama "is poised to come out ahead of the nation as the broken economy mends."
He said the state could not wait on Congress to pass a stimulus plan. (I imagine legislators will disagree as some have talked about postponing the budgets until a special session later this year.) He shocked no one by not calling for higher taxes but for fiscal discipline. He called for a back-to-work tax credit of $500 to encourage companies to hire unemployed workers. He wants a targeted job creation tax credit of $1,500 over three years for each new job created in counties with the highest unemployment levels, citing the Black Belt and rural counties in general. (He didn't mention what the cut off point would be.) Frankly, every little bit helps -- and why aren't such measures already on the books?
As expected, he made a pitch to protect some of his cherished education initiatives, including the Alabama Reading Initiative and some involving math and science and distance learning. Those programs are popular and effective, but that could be difficult in proration. Most salaries are protected, after all. If we start protecting programs, even popular ones, I have an awful feeling that toilet paper in schools will be replaced by sales catalogs. (More appropriate would be pages from some of these bureaucratic reports that bog down educators every year.)
He asked for "a complete overhaul" of the state's ethics laws, the first major rewrite since 1973. He did not link it to any scandals, but there have been plenty to go around in the state to warrant such action.
"It gives citizens a clearer picture of the money being spent to influence public policy and public officials. No longer will there be unlimited wining and dining by the special interests," Riley said. "This reform ends that. And it requires full disclosure of everything spent by lobbyists on elected officials."
He said conflicts of interests are disclosed and public officials will have to disclose ownership or contacts with any entity that gets state funds, and the same would go for their spouses. Moreover, the Ethics Commission for the first time would have subpoena power, with the attorney general or district attorneys given a reasonable amount of time to prosecute or to state they decline to prosecute.
In the end, it was modest by the number of items asked for (or in the case of gambling, not asked for), but it amounted to a good request in a year where there is not much money to go around.
Then again, I have an awful feeling APT is going to request more funds. I don't even know what to say about that.
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