GRINS & GRIPES ...continued from p. 32
pay back the town – all of us – the $244,000 you and others have wasted on behalf of Todd Rotruck? Doubt it!
Council Meeting barely two pages and continuing the meeting in another issue but giving Summerfield almost four pages and publishing all of Oak Ridge’s. What is that about?
The town of Oak Ridge – with all the money in this town, why do our kids have to play soccer on the sides of mountains? Thanks, Stokesdale, for the great fields y’all provide!
Editor’s note: Stokesdale’s meeting was the last of three council meetings held before our previous issue went to the printer, so unfortunately, coverage of that meeting was limited to the available space at that point – and actually, we also had to hold back on one news article, a few pictures, a couple of calendar events and two other items we had hoped to include in our May 19-June 1 issue – no slight intended, but truly just a typical case where there is far more community news and information than space to fit it all in. Besides the two pages of Stokesdale meeting coverage in our last issue, we did pull out a long conversation from Stokesdale’s May 12 meeting about the changeover in the town’s waste/recycling collectors and shared that as an article on our front cover. We’re sorry we kept you in suspense on the rest of the meeting, and we do appreciate knowing you value our council meeting coverage.
Whoever stole my kayak from storage at Lake Higgins, where I paid to store it for several years. Upon receipt of my yearly storage fee, someone called to say they could not locate my kayak. It had been stolen.
Summerfield residents Danny Nelson and Teresa Perryman. Since another lawsuit against Summerfield has been dismissed, will you be Christian and
NCDOT, for planning roundabouts in Oak Ridge – you’ve lost your mind! That money should go to our local schools. Mayor Nancy Vaughan. Maybe if you took care of crime in your city, more of us would be willing to live in Greensboro and you wouldn’t have to threaten to sue Summerfield for our tax dollars. Those complaining that the (Oak Ridge) Town Council isn’t working hard enough to ensure preservation of the rural town. I don’t see traffic congestion, etc., as I’ve seen elsewhere. I do see our trails, parks and our history. The motor bike riders who ride in Heritage Farm Park and damage our valuable natural resource. Use of motorized bikes is prohibited by the park rules! Please refrain from this in the future.
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JUNE 2 - 15, 2022
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Ways to avoid 15% tax increase in Oak Ridge budget (you can call the increase whatever you want) The Town of Oak Ridge’s budget has been obscured by the emotionally-charged topic of the proposed $455,000 remodeling of the 1,100-square-foot Redmon House. The proposals below refer to the Redmon property simply because it is the largest line-item expenditure funded entirely by Oak Ridge taxpayers and has the most leeway for how and when to spend tax dollars. The Town Council could just as easily reduce spending on Heritage Farm Park by the same amount. Rather than forcing the proposed 15%+ tax increase upon its citizens, here are better options the council could undertake: • Learn from Summerfield and simply delay construction on the Redmon House due to inflation costs. It’s fiscally prudent and conservative to do so until cost conditions are more favorable. Taxpayers could then receive a revenue-neutral tax rate (approximately $215k) and the remaining $240k could be banked for future use on the Redmon property.
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LETTERS/OPINIONS
• Budget $240k for the Redmon House and use the rest for a revenue-neutral tax rate. If the mayor is correct that we will receive
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more favorable quotes, the remaining construction costs (if any) could be budgeted next year or paid from the general fund balance. • If the council believes the Redmon House justifies reducing the general fund balance by $455k, then use an additional $215k to maintain a revenue-neutral tax rate. Providing tax relief for its citizens is equally as important as remodeling/expanding an 1,100-square-foot house. Councilman George McClellan’s recent election campaign committed to no tax increase during these most difficult times. Gas prices are above $4 per gallon, inflation is at a 40-year high and costs for basic needs are rising. Guilford County commissioners have signaled that county taxes will increase next year and voters just approved a school bond that will require more tax dollars. Under these circumstances, the proposed 15%+ tax increase on Oak Ridge citizens is excessive. A conservative and fiscally responsible budget would, at the very least, hold the tax burden on citizens at the revenue-neutral rate. Mike Stone OAK RIDGE
