Resources, resources, resources
Would someone please translate the word “resources” for Albemarle County Executive Tom Foley, his Staff, and the six Democrats on the Board of Supervisors!
To mimic a popular radio ad, resources, resources, resources are taxes, taxes, taxes.
They come from the pockets, pockets, pockets of County residents who own (or rent) property; own a vehicle, boat, or machinery; furnish an office; own a telephone; or buy stuff — including restaurant food — sold within Albemarle’s borders.
For two and a half hours today, Tom, his Assistant County Executive Lee Catlin, and the six Supervisors repeated the word “resources” over and over and over again during a Work Session on something called Priority-Based Budgeting. What they were talking about — and were apparently afraid to say for most of the afternoon — were the words: your money, your tax dollars.
“Resources” sounds like Albemarle investments in soil, water, and air rather than the loss of hard currency and coins from taxpayer wallets.
Using the word “resources” is like hiding a janitor behind “custodial engineer” or an undertaker behind “memorial associate.” Perhaps, though, there is some similarity here, what with we the governed being cleaned out and buried in taxes by the elected, hired, or appointed who govern us.
Perhaps Albemarle’s governed should launch a grassroots vocabulary protest.
From now on, every time an elected, hired, or appointed County official spits out the word “resources,” audience members could echo aloud the word “taxes.” Be prepared, however, to be tossed from the meeting room should you exercise such free speech too frequently or too audibly. Board of Supervisors’ protocols require silent rebuttals, minimal signage, raised hands, or standing-in-place rather than vocal, First Amendment style, community engagement.
Other than all this “resources” redundancy at today's Work Session, the main focus was on getting the Supervisors to tell County Exec Tom and his Staff what the Supervisors believe they should spend your taxes on over the next two fiscal years starting July 1, 2017.
As an advance homework assignment, Supervisors sorted through lists of priorities, ranked them, and slotted them into one of three tiers based on how urgent each Supervisor thought it was to spend taxpayer dollars on a particular priority.
There were some changes in wording and shifts in placement of the priorities as a result of today’s discussions, but no tax dollar amounts were affixed to any of them. Priorities “tiered” today are likely to get bumped around, up or down, later this year as Tom begins affixing “resources,” I mean “taxes,” to what his six bosses have prioritized.
After some yet-to-be-determined, yet-to-be-announced, yet-to-be-scheduled, and still-to-be-held summer time community engagement sessions on all this prioritization and resources, Tom intends to bring back to the Supervisors by November or December something he is calling a "balanced, no surprises, two-year fiscal plan.”
Be still, my wallet!
Tom added that the Supervisors’ new two-year “Priority-Driven Budget” would be the basis for the County’s next one-year FY2018 Budget within Albemarle’s Five-Year Financial Plan.
And as Samuel Miller District Supervisor and Board Chairwoman Liz Palmer quipped: “what kind of tax increase we want.”
Oh, sorry. My bad. Someone actually did replace “Resources” with the “T” word.