Dot’s Dog & Pony Show set for Tuesday

This week’s Rhino Times has a good update story on how (and why) your county commissioners are thumbing their noses at the so-called “Taxing Authority Bill” (HB 1740, which is stuck in a House Finance Committee in Raleigh).

Their nose-thumbing may be two-fold. One, because they’re listening to you, the taxpayers…you’re telling them you’re not ready for GCS to have taxing authority. Two, it’s possible the Democratic-controlled Co-Co’s may not be ready to give up that much power just yet. They hold the purse-strings for GCS.

Rhino excerpt:

Statewide, the issue has given county boards of commissioners and school boards something to fight over, assuming they need one beyond annual funding battles.

Their lobbying arms, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) and the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA), are at odds over a bill that is now in the House Finance Committee.

According to the bill, it would give elected school boards “the same authority as a board of county commissioners has for the purposes of public education to levy and collect taxes on property.”

The bill would answer complaints by school board members that they have the responsibility, but not the funding authority, for education in the county.

Even if the bill did pass the state House and Senate, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners would have to vote to approve the change to a taxing school board, and that seems unlikely, according to Chairman Kirk Perkins.

“I don’t think there’s any particular will on our board to give them taxing authority,” Perkins said. “Although it would make our life easier, obviously.”

Perkins said most of his constituents oppose the plan.

“I haven’t talked to one person in my district who thought they should have it,” Perkins said. “It’s kind of a checks-and-balances thing.”

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So Dot “I haven’t decided if I’m running for re-election or not” Kearns has managed to help put together a Dog and Pony Show…excuse me, a luncheon this coming Tuesday (probably at your expense) to lobby our Guilford delegation and strong-arming them into supporting this bill. And if this bill passes and gets signed, it would still have to gain county commissioner approval–so the Co-Co’s have been invited to this party also.

This is Dot’s little puppy; she’s made no secret that she’s been wanting this for a long time, relishing at the chance to raise your taxes.

Another Rhino excerpt:

The Guilford County school board will hold a lunch meeting with legislators on Feb. 19 at the administration building on Eugene Street.

“We wanted to have them come and explain each bill carefully,” said school board member Dot Kearns. “We have not formed our legislative platform.”

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Yes you have, Dot. There you go again, Dorothy, you’re not shooting straight. You want taxing authority, that’s your bread-and-butter platform item.

Dot’s time is up.

While we’re on the subject of Mrs. Kearns, you’ve been telling the media the last couple of days that you haven’t decided whether to run again…or not. Most of the incumbents have announced their intentions–why do you wish to play games with the taxpayers and the children? Stop the games, put up or shut up–if you’re going to run, announce it, or file and be done with it. If not, say you’re not. You’ve got two weeks and the clock is running.

E.C.