Tuesday, August 21, 2012

HEY! OLYMPICS ARE OVER PAY ATTENTION




The Olympic torch has been snuffed for the year but if you can't pry the remote out of your hand and you watched the 1st installment of "Running Alaska Primary Election" on KAKM Monday night,( August 20, 2012) and your head exploded we will give you  a pass on  reading this.  It was interviews and debates with primary candidates from the valley you've been punished enough for 24 hours.  If that didn't send you to the fainting couch, nothing will. And you can plan on having that third helping of Auntie Em's gut burning chili at the next family reunion because if you made it through that display of tin hats you  friend clearly have a stomach that can take it...

But...you do need this quick reminder that there is an assembly meeting (tonight) Tuesday, August 21st.  You can find the agenda in the usual hiding places. A normal line of agenda items that spins the wheel to spend your tax dollars and you can count on this "business at any cost" majority held assembly will be making sure that the bulk of the costs come out of pockets of homeowners and small business.  You know, your elected officials that have made sure borough savings have dropped from nearly 14 million in 2010 to under 5 million now with more empty the piggy bank legislation on the way as they continue down the path of dismantling government to sell it off. Assemblyman Colligan is back to finish off what’s left of the business inventory tax ordinance that a hedge trimmer was taken too in June. He now wants and probably will  get support from his brethren to totally REPEAL what’s left of the BIG BUSINESS TAX cutting another $614,000 out of the operating budget and transfer the cost to you guessed it ….other taxpayers.  We can almost see the unplowed snow on roads piled up.  The borough check book is bound to get a good work out with potential approval for yet more improvements for Academy Charter school, another $537,000 to the ferry that everyone loves to hate in expenses, and those ever popular with this assembly gas LID’s because this assembly just loves them some gas!  We will let you wade through the rest of the fun in the packet yourself for now.

If sitting in the assembly meeting doesn't suit your fancy and you live in the Butte area, then there is a Jim Creek Plan Meeting at 6:30pm at Butte Elementary tonight (Tuesday, August 21st) on the same night as what always promises to be most entertaining and disappointing Assembly meeting. This is your chance to see the data, layout and be the voice of balance as decisions are made for the 471 acres the borough owns.  It’s pretty hard to unwind the clock once the hands are set in motion on these plans and so far it’s looking pretty unlikely even though there is plenty of land that without more public input any harmony will be reached for non-motorized and motorized balanced recreation.  Even if you don't live in the area you should be paying attention because the bully in the playground may be in your slice of heaven backyard soon. We all know that enough is never enough for some people that are also pretty convinced that they are timeless and don't need to worry about any other generation of users.   

Of course your community radio station Radio Free Palmer will be live streaming the assembly meeting and adding it to their archive.  Your citizen lobbyist will be recalling all the thrills and spills Thursday live at RF @8am and repeated again at 5pm because its just so much darn fun!

Of course we'll be back with the crying towel when it’s all over. 

Have the scotch ready will you?


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