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Levy being rejected; Farra ahead
Early results posted by the County election site:
| Levy to Support Emergency Medical Services Levy to Support Emergency Medical Services | ||||
| Precinct Results | ||||
| Candidate | Votes | Votes % | ||
Approved
|
439 | 28.88% | ||
Rejected
|
1,081 | 71.12% | ||
| Position 5 | ||||
| Precinct Results | ||||
| Candidate | Votes | Votes % | ||
Jackie Farra
|
824 |
58.77% |
||
Nick Johnson
|
578 |
41.23% |
||
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 8:39 pm and is filed under North Coast News.
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I absolutely am in awe of this site. absolutely going to have to remember to put this on the list.
It’s easy to make the allegation that someone is lying–the real test is to prove it. Let those making the accusations do the research, get the facts as they find them, and then present them and someone will listen. Accusing someone of lying and not proving it is considered either slander or libel. Let the person making these accusations release his/her name and document their statements or have their remarks removed from the ongoing dialog.
I’m on the fence, here: Anyone think I should delete the allegations and counter-allegations re “lies” in a few of these comments? These comments are toeing the line of our “Comment Policy”; the reason I did not delete them (thus far) is they don’t use names/real names. But still . . .
Disgusted seems to promote lies himself. The city provided the information that showed where they were failing. That is on them. Just because someone blows the cover of a public servant does not make them a enemies. They took what they were given and showed the public what is happening behind the walls. The city responded, but it was too late. The issue here is responding to the drop in revenues across the whole economy. The city thought they could sail through the rough waters, but their boat started taking on water. Now, at the last minute they are looking for the buckets to bail them out. They were arogant about showing how they will use the money freed up in the General Fund. The levy was just that, an increase in taxes dressed up as an EMS Levy. If they were honest from the start, more reasonable in the amount, and more transparent as to their motives, people may have thought and voted otherwise. They were not. They wanted to avoid the light of day shining on their plan. Now they will start planning for a Utility. That is their way around it. Instead of dealing with the root causes of our problems. Our problem will impact familes of employees. It will also impact people that live here. However, the economy is impacting everyone. To say that these people are msicontents or have ill-will towards anyone is outrageous. What they showed the public is how our government is currently being run. They showed how resources are being used on those that are not paying for them. They offered alternatives to the budget issues. In every situation there are various views. They showed their view. The city showed their point of view. The voter looked at the data, statements, and facts and drew a conclusion that Disgusted may not like, but is right there in the open. What the city was trying to do was replace revenue lost from Sales Taxes, Building Permits, Real Estate Excise Tax, Hotel/Motel Taxes, Gas Taxes, Utility Taxes, B&O Taxes, Fees, and Penalties with an EMS Levy that does not solve the underlying issue of poor management. Look at the budget. Look and see the categories that numbers are just thrown in there. Do they have any more basis in fact than the 2009 budget that was a pipedream? We need to be honest and spend what we have in a conservative manner. If the economy returns, then we can review the budget and make adjustments. There is nothing wrong with city employees doing other tasks. It is that flexibility that corporate and small business America are enacting. We have to be flexible. We have to be agile. We have to be able to respond to stimili. Our city has become lazy. It is not responding to economic change. If it does not, it will die.
Keith, unfotunetly I cant put my name on here as I have family ties to a city employee and I dont want my family member to have to bear the brunt of my opinion. I believe there would be ramifications even though Im just using my right for free speech. I really dont wish anyone harm but Im very passionate about these topics and I feel that these individuals that are spreading these lies should have to pay for the damage they are doing to this city. I apologize for the “hate” but I think the people that are starting these lies are just as guilty of miscontent and ill-will if not more. Not only could the decisions made here impact the lives of citizens if our services are reduced, but the lives of city employee’s who work hard for this city regardless of department.
I see that “Disgusted” was too gutless to use his or her name. How typical of those who spew hate against others who disagree with them.
Keith Mogle
And now we create a new budget…
1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin’d.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—’tis time! ’tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg’d i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.
Now is time for the city to figure out a budget that meets the expectations of the citizens. It does not mean that they come around the side with a Utility. What needs to be done is cut the fat and keep the meat. We need to look carefully at EVERY department and seek savings and revenue where we can. If you are outside the gates, it is time to petition your government, neighbors and property owners to increase your property taxes to supply sufficient Police, Fire and EMS services. Not only are Ocean Shores students at all of the school. It is called the North Beach School District. We have the elementary school. District 7 had the High School. The elementary school in Pacific Beach is in District 8. Each of the different Fire Districts need to tax their property owners to get services comprable to Ocean Shores. That is their solution. That is our solution. We need the County to support our work on the beach. If we patrol, save lives, provide EMS or Fire control, then they need to pay the cost of our being prepared and ready to respond. Forget these fees per call. They do not cover our cost. That is the bottom line. Calling for a Pox on every family, 70% of Ocean Shores is not the answer. We all have families. We all want to keep a roof over our heads too. The city needs to live within their budget. The last few years of budgets were garbage. They had unrealistic numbers. However, when you do not realize that your income is less than your expenses, you fail. We are failing because of this. The only money that the city is losing because of the levy is $261,000. The remainder of the budget is in trouble because sales taxes, real estate excise taxes, building permits, Hotel Motel taxes,fees, and other income are down. That is happening across the country. However, we keep thinking that that can not happen here. However, it has. We have to realize it. We have to react properly. More taxes are not the answer. The only dire situation is deciding what fees for services will be exacted upon us. Those fees will have to be for services rendered by the city. If you use it you pay for it. That is the way it is. That is something we will have to get used to. We will have to pay for tickets from the police. We will have to pay when the EMS or Fire Department are called. We will have to restructure our library program. We will have to charge groups to use the parks. We will have to have fees for events to support fire and police personnel. But these are costs cities around the country have realized are necessary.
So I understand the democracy statement but what chaps me are these idiots talking about free service outside the city gates. Lies like these and the rest of the lies they are spewing pollute the minds of the people voting. I hope these people who make such dumb statements or one of thier family members roll thier car at minards corner in the water and I hope the people working at the fire station in the city are prohibited from responding because its outside the gates. I hope they are injured and have no medical services available to them. That would be Karma in its purest form. I bet these same people would want the fire dept to respond then. Same goes if something happens at the high school to a student of an Ocean Shores resident I bet they would want us to respond outside the gates then, but of course most of the people spreading these lies are without love and lonely( their family probably left them or disowned them long ago) and probably dont have family memebers in the town, that is why they have so much time to skew facts and misquote information they were given. I moved to Ocean Shores six years ago with my family thinking this town was taking steps in the right direction. As long as cancers are spreading lies and people are voting down measures to secure services and essential infra-structures for a growing city I will be puting my house on the market and our familiy will be moving to a city with citizens that are looking to make their city better and not holding it back. I will be looking to spend my money in aberdeen and hoqiam whenever I can. I agree people are going to complain when the city is in even more of a dire situation because they dont have the funds they would have had from the lid lift. What is going to happen when more jobs and services are lost???????
Bitter rantings mean nothing. The people have spoken and in a democracy that trumps all special interest complaints of sour grapes.
I think we have plenty of money for the services, the problem is Ocean Shores gives free medical treatment to the entire area outside of Ocean Shores for free. The employees get very high saleries and benefits for such a small town. We built a massive fire station and pave the roads with 5 inches of asphalt.
It rains every say and they can’t get clean drinking water.
Help!
Way to go everyone! You have all proved to me how naive people can be, and you have no idea what damage you have done…yet! But you will, the city is going to lose a lot of services that we all take for granted. And when people start complaining, there’s no one to blame but those who voted no against the levy. Well done everyone, enjoy the downfall…