With the bar set fairly low to look good in local government, New Hanover County isn’t making itself look particularly prescient.
(StarNews) The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners postponed granting a special-use permit for the expansion of the county’s landfill Monday evening due to a “technical question” that county staff says has now been cleared up. And while it seems like a small point, staff said it is extra important to pay attention to these details when it is county departments requesting the permit from the commissioners. Suleyman said the two-week delay doesn’t cause too many problems, but that the county will have to make up the time somewhere else in the process.
Most of that would make sense if this were a sudden need or even one that was relatively recent. But the county has known for years that the landfill needed expansion. This does NOT inspire confidence. The county is off to a shaky start to 2013, wasteful and ill prepared.
Why wasn’t the staff prepared? Why isn’t this already done? Geesh. . . .
Read full article » No Comments »It might be palatable to parents, but it’s still a knee jerk/panic ridden and permanently wasteful decision.
(PortCityDaily.com) Following an at-times-confusing discussion with staff that described the plan in terms of “cost sharing” and “forced multiplication,” commissioners voted unanimously in favor of a short-term plan that would split the cost of funding 24 sheriff’s office deputies—six of them reserve; 18 to be paid through overtime hours—between county government and New Hanover County Schools.
Of $634,909, the school system would cover $280,000, while New Hanover County would incur the remainder: $354,909.
Here’s sad part, school system and New Hanover County are essentially the same funding source, the county. It is sad that rather than be pragmatic, get citizens involved in reviewing security procedures, coming up with actual progress or even considering taxpayer concerns, the new board simply leapt in a totally predictable fashion and did what government always does, expand its reach and spend more money. Not ONE single bit of proof that this will work can be shown!
Newtown was a horrible tragedy and now local governments are going to waste millions of taxpayer dollars across the state with no proof that it will do any good. What was all that talk during the election about being “fiscally conservative” again?
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