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The lessons of our
youth
That’s
My Opinion
By Bob Robinson
It should have come as no surprise that the Conveyance Fee (Transfer Tax) increase passed on Monday.
I had heard from a number of people who questioned why the public
hearings were held in the first place, believing it was a done deal
from the start. Up to a point I agree, however I would allow that if
someone had come up with something earth-shattering they might have
taken notice.
I’m guessing they had already anticipated the objections they would hear. They didn’t hear anything new, so they passed it.
The beauty of local government is that your commissioners are directly
accessible and responsible to you. If you’re curious, ask. Since the
point was moot, it didn’t occur to me to ask. Those comments are just
my opinion.
We had an excellent discussion following the meeting. I got a good
“feel” for where Commissioners Diane Delaplane and Mike Stegall were
coming from. Commissioner Mike Rhoades had left the room at that point.
I strongly support economic development in Darke County. I think ED
Director Marc Saluk is doing a phenomenal job, and he has a strong
contingent of private support behind him.
That’s as it should be. P4P floundered for several years and over time
lost support from some businesses. Saluk, with the help of Greenville
Mayor Mike Bowers and Versailles Administrator Randy Gump, plus a few
others, turned it around. The partnership, as I understand it, is
growing.
Stegall said “everybody supports economic development,” even those who
are against the increase. “They just want us to find a different way to
fund it.”
I took issue with that statement. That may have been his perception,
but it isn’t where I’m coming from and I don’t believe it is where at
least one or two others were coming from.
The problem is we are in the minority. People are so accustomed to
government using taxpayer funds to “do good things” for us that they
don’t even think about it any more.
Just down the street, the City of Greenville issued a press release saying that more layoffs were on the way.
Obviously, that is not a good thing. From the city’s perspective, it
was either that or get more money from the taxpayers, like the
commissioners did three blocks south of them. What I don’t know is
whether or not the city had tax-increase options that could be enacted
without voter approval, or that all other cost saving options had been
exhausted. Safety cuts (fire and police) should be the absolute last
thing a local government looks at, but I don’t know the financial
details.
We have two legislative bodies that have blamed state cuts in local
funds as the villain that resulted in their actions. One entity chose
to address them with a tax increase. The other chose to address them
with cuts.
In fairness to the commissioners, they have been cutting their budget
for more than a year. I believe they have done a good job. It was tight
coming into 2011. Greenville, on the other hand, handed out raises not
too long ago, but has already made one set of cuts, including layoffs,
this year.
I’m a fiscal purist. Economic Development should be left to those who
do it well… private enterprise. Government should make ED easier, not
fund it. I also believe that those who represent us have to make do
with the money they have, just as we do.
The commissioners argue that we are in competition with our neighbors
and other entities in the state to attract and retain businesses. As we
all know, businesses translate into jobs. And we need jobs.
Competitors offer these businesses goodies in return for their loyalty.
“We have to do the same.”
I believe “goodies” involves ease of regulations and bureaucratic
snafus, something I understand we still need to work on in some areas.
I believe “goodies” involves individuals in positions of authority who
can get things done… yesterday if necessary. Saluk has come a long way,
but is he getting the full support of the bureaucratic sector? If not,
then that needs to be addressed.
I believe “goodies” involves a beautiful, supportive, rural community
with a great work force; a low, tax-friendly environment that provides
essentials as a lean but effective government; strong safety support
and a quality education for its kids. Finally, I believe that a
community that is stable enough to provide other incentives such as
delayed payments on fees, taxes and so on, would also have an impact.
In my mind these are the priorities. Not more money from citizens to be used as handouts.
I remember telling the commissioners Monday that spending at higher levels is killing us.
“It has to stop somewhere.”
They agreed, then noted that we have been hurt by those higher levels,
and that everyone else is doing it. So we have to do it if we want to
compete.
All I could think of was a lesson I learned as a young boy telling my
Mom that the other kids are doing it, so I should get to do it, too.
“And if all the other kids decide to jump off a cliff, would you do it too?”
Short term, maybe fewer taxes and more streamlined opportunities for
businesses might not be as successful as financial “goodies.” Long
term, I believe they would pay higher dividends.
But unless we change our approach to government’s role in our lives, we may never find out.
In the meantime, we might want to remember some of the lessons of our youth when seeking solutions to today’s problems.
That’s my opinion. What’s yours?
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