No Desire to Help the Common Man

That's exactly right.  The Sanford City Council could care less about us.  Most of them remind me of Doc Oldham...never met a tax increase they wouldn't vote for.   Thank God at least one voice keeps the rest of us informed on the shenanigans going on down at city hall! Thank you Councilman Taylor!

Here are your city council members:

Cornelia P. Olive, Mayor

 

Mayor Pro Tem

Samuel P. Gaskins

 

Council Members

Samuel P. Gaskins

Charles Taylor

James G. Williams

Walter H. McNeil, Jr.

Jimmy Haire

Rebecca Wyhof

Leopold I. Cohen

Anyway, have any of these members looked around town lately at the empty buildings?  Earth to City Council:  Empty buildings don't generate revenue.  Well they do but not what they could generate if  thriving businesses were in them.  I can use a calculator.  Can they?

According to today's paper, City Manager Hal Hegwer has requested a 7% increase in city taxes to support his bulging budget.  (http://www.sanfordherald.com/news/x1592161910/CITY-OF-SANFORD-Proposed-budget-includes-property-tax-increase)  What for?  To waste more money on a money pit called the "Sanford Golf Course"?  Or to build some fancy new building for emergency services?  What?


Oh I forgot..them darn Lee Co Republican commissioners.  How dare they give the citizens a tax break!  But wait, didn't the Sanford City Council threaten us last year during the primary with higher taxes if the Commissioners gave preference to citizens instead of the city council's spending sprees?  Yes they did!  

So nothing happened with a sales tax redistribution proposal.  And they raised our water and sewer rates anyway.  Now fast forward to now.  It looks as if Lee Co citizens will get a 3 cents/$100 decrease in our property taxes.  And what does our council do? They act like Valerie Jarrett, President Obama's right hand woman, and declare "Payback is coming"!   And now here comes more payback.   

The redistribution is going to take an estimated $1.4 million from the city coffers.  So, you think they would increase just enough to cover that.  Right? After all, our citizens are hurting.  CUOC and other charities are overwhelmed.  Buildings are empty downtown.  

Well you are sorely wrong.  Guess what else they will do:

According to the Herald, there will be a 2 percent increase in sewer and water rates!  Didn't they just do that to us?  And they appear to be all giddy about putting a bond referendum on the November ballot.   Bring it on, boys and girls.  Bring it on in this economy!  Amazing!

I declare  Cornelia and Hal and Poly and Sam and Walter and Rebecca and JD and Jimmy...the darn citizens of Sanford are barely making it now!  Do you even care? I think the answer to that is NO!  

They wouldn't even 2nd a motion last night to put a vote on decreasing their own pay.  But they will in a heartbeat decrease yours.  They have absolutely no concern at all about helping the common man.  It's all about power.   And getting votes in November.

And what do we have to work with?  LEED pac boys and girls who couldn't get their agenda through via the County Commissioners and now want to infiltrate the city council. 

Get involved!  Think about running for city council.  No, before any of you ask, I'm not interested.  I'm having way too much fun on the outside calling out these people who care more about a vote than you being able to put food on the table and buy your child some sneakers or snacks or anything else they need!