Newspaper Page Text
THE ISLANDER, MARCH 30, 2009, PAGE 5
City garbage fees
Continued from Page 1
Pointing out that of the approxi
mately 6,000 residences in Brunswick,
57% are investment owned and avail
able as rental units, Foster said the
increased garbage fees are a burden,
especially in the current difficult eco
nomic climate.
"There are three things govern
ment shouldn't do in a recession," said
Foster, "They shouldn't raise taxes,
they shouldn't raise user fees and they
shouldn't create new regulations and
you have done all three in the last three
months."
"You approved a new fire inspection
ordinance that came with new fees,"
said Foster, "This is just the wrong time
to do this to the taxpayers and busi
ness owners. We need our cash flow.
We have bills to pay in order to keep
our doors open for business. People
are struggling. Foreclosures are on the
increase."
"Business is down. There are 300
less realtors in Glynn since January of
this year," Foster maintained, "If not
for my rental units, my real estate busi
ness would probably be out of business
too. I've frozen or reduced my rents to
help long term tenants be able to afford
to stay."
Addressing uncollected garbage fees
from the past, Foster said, "You've
placed the burden of not being able to
collect the sanitation fee and losing
money on the shoulders of business
owners and investors. And putting it on
the tax bill, this is a tax increase for us.
Maybe it isn't for you, but it is for us."
"And any vacant properties that
don't produce garbage, well, we still
have to pay for those. So we'll have to
eat those at the end of the year when
the tax bill comes," said Foster.
"If a straw poll had been held," said
Foster, "this increase would have been
voted down. We have rights and we
were not informed about this. Sure,
you did the minimum, but we were not
informed properly."
Sandy Dean, who owns both com
mercial and residential property in
the city, took the podium next saying,
"Because a lot of people did not pay
their garbage bill, now you want us to
pay it and pay more. That's just what
we need right now, 'Let's raise taxes.'
Nobody knew about this. Why don't
you get creative and come up with some
other solutions. There are other ways
to raise this money than just raising
taxes."
Ron Sadowski agreed with Dean
that an alternative was needed.
Sadowski said, "You need to come up
with a payment system. A $200 annual
payment is going to be difficult for a
lot of people to pay. Especially when
they have to pay their property tax at
the same time. You should break it up
into payments or go back to monthly
garbage fees."
Annie Polite closed out the discus
sion on the garbage fees saying, "Not all
of us are investors with rental property.
Many of us are just poor property own
ers who you have placed this burden
on. We have to rob Peter to pay Paul,
to pay your garbage fee. You need to
re-think this decision."
The commissioners listened to the
comments without responding. “I
Back Talk
Continued from Page 20
dent on the friendly lending of these
dictators. To whom my children and
my grandchildren will be paying taxes
to cover interest payments for the rest
of their lives.
How to get back home? Well, Thom
as Wolfe was right: ‘You can’t go home
again.”
There never was a time when Amer
ica shone as the fabled free city on a
hill. If there really are conservatives
out there who haven’t yet realized it:
This is not an Obama problem.
Sure, Mr. Obama is actively mak
ing it worse — but with a ton of
help from politicians and special inter
ests of all stripes. Had Senator John
McCain been elected, instead, or had
some other usual suspect been round
ed up to serve, it would play much the
same.
The problem? Government grows
like a cancer, destroying freedom and
wealth and productivity. It metasta
sized into virtually every part of our
body politic during George W. Bush’s
eight years as president, most of it
with a Congress in which Republicans
controlled both chambers.
Yet, it isn’t just a W. problem,
either. It is an age-old problem. Power
corrupts — it has indeed corrupted
Rs and Ds alike. Unless freedom is
fiercely defended, it withers away.
I spend money every month on life
insurance. Mainly because my wife
tells me to, but also because if some
thing should happen to me, I want my
family to be okay. But when I think of
my children and my grandchild, I’m
not worried that they will suffer for
lack of money. I worry they’ll suffer a
much worse fate: lack of freedom.
I’d don Dorothy’s red shoes and click
my heels like there were no tomorrow
if that would take me to an America
where freedom would be better pro
tected and respected. But it won’t.
We have to fight our way — not
back, but forward — to a country in
which self-dealing politicians control
less of our economy and less of our
lives. □
Open education fomm on
City’s new animal shelter
Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thomp
son and Brunswick Police Chief Edna
Johnson will present information
about the city’s proposed new low-kill
animal shelter to the public at the
Citizens for Humane Animal Treat
ment, Inc. (CHAT) monthly meeting
Tuesday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m. at the
First Presbyterian Church of Bruns
wick, 1105 Union Street.
CHAT is a Glynn County, Georgia
based, not for profit organization
whose mission is to educate the pub
lic about the need for sterilizing pets,
and to promote low-cost spay/neuter
programs.
CHAT supports the rights and life
conditions of animals through edu
cation and adoption. Public educa
tional programs are presented on the
first Tuesday evening of every month
at the First Presbyterian Church.
Adults and supervised children are
welcome. Programs are varied and
educational. □
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