With signs held high and chants of opposition, a number of county residents that Rocky Mount is eyeing to annex into the city protested Friday afternoon outside of City Hall.
Sphere: Related ContentJust as a worldwide economic crisis manifests itself in local communities from the mountains to the coast, there’s new evidence that North Carolina politicians have spent the past several years steadily weakening the economic freedom that once helped our state grow and prosper.
Sphere: Related ContentOak Level Citizens Against Forced Annexation will be holding a rally at the Rocky Mount City Hall Building on December 3, 2008. The address for the location is 331 S. Franklin St., Rocky Mount, NC 27082.
Sphere: Related ContentRocky Mount Electricities Utilities Online Petition
Text of Petition:
The Rocky Mount Utilities are outrageous and need to be lowered. We do not have a choice to get our power from Progress Energy, so we have to buy our electric from the City of Rocky Mount. I enjoy living in the city, but the electric and gas rates are too high. We the citizens of Rocky Mount want our gas and electric rates lowered and want them to be comparative to Progress Energy. Many residents electric bills are almost more than their mortgage payment each month. (Mine is one of them) If there is a law for Price Gouging, then this matter should be addressed and investigated as such. The City of Rocky Mount has to buy their electricity from NCEMPA (American Public Power Association, American Public Gas Association and Electricities). I feel if we had a choice, the citizens of Rocky Mount would choose a different provider for our utilities. Now they are talking about another price increase in 2009 after we already had one in 2008. Please reply to this petition. If I can get 1000 people to respond, I will go to the next step, but I am young, energetic, and motivated, so I am willing to try to get our voices heard. I need everyone to help get our voice heard. Please sign this petition. Comment your feelings. Tell everyone you know that cares about our town’s wellness to sign the petition as well.
Here are some very interesting Numbers from one of the recent blogs on the Telegram Page:
Progress Energy,
Nashville electric prices are; 9.67c July-Oct Kwh
8.67c Nov- June Kwh (A decrease)
Rocky Mount- 12.91c Kwh. all year long.
If you need to know more about ElectriCities look at these sites.
http://www.rockymountnc.gov/utilities/faqs.html#8
and
http://www.electricities.com/index.htm
ElectriCities is a not-for-profit organization that is financed through membership fees and dues, as well as through rate and service revenue and tuition from training programs and workshops. Rocky Mounts annual due is $46,046. It is just interesting to look at this.
Sphere: Related ContentA new report stating that North Carolina has lost nearly 80,000 jobs to China over eight years strikes a raw nerve with Deborah Burnette. “I don’t think you can print what I would say (about the results),” the Rocky Mount psychotherapist said.
Sphere: Related ContentFollowing the hard lessons of New York Governor Elliot Spitzer’s failed attempt to give licenses to illegal aliens and John McCain’s close call with political destruction for supporting Comprehensive Immigration Reform Amnesty in 2007, Barrack Obama has stepped on a political land mine by stating Americans should be forced to learn to speak Spanish.
Roanoke Rapids and its taxpayers were victims of a scam by Randy Parton and his partners to induce the community into building a multi-million theater with little chance of the entertainment venue succeeding, according to a lawsuit filed in behalf of a local resident Thursday.
Sphere: Related ContentWhile admitting his own complicity in the Randy Parton Theater fiasco, Councilman Jon Baker says the proposed 5-cent property tax hike is a necessary evil and he has lost faith in the mayor and all but one of his fellow council members.
Sphere: Related ContentState records obtained by The News & Observer of Raleigh show Gov. Mike Easley’s industry-hunting trip to Italy cost more than $170,000.
In North Carolina to date, attempts to pass 20 land transfer tax initiatives and 37 sales tax increases have been made. In 49 cases, the voters have overwhelmingly voted against the tax increases. Of the 20 attempts to pass a land transfer all 20 were killed in their tracks. Of the sales tax increase attempts 29 of the 37 attempts have been stopped by voters disgusted with ever rising taxes and spendthrift politicians. In the recent vote in Nash County voters rejected the increase, despite the emotional “for the children” pleas, by a margin of roughly two to one.
In light of this clear mandate against higher taxes, elected officials and proponents of higher taxes have continued to make open threats to raise other taxes or to put this tax issue back on the ballot. Voters in Nash and other counties should not dismiss those threats lightly. We can expect even more desperate and emotional pleas to be plastered in the newspapers and on TV. You can also expect the money hungry politicians, nonprofits, and public/private partners who thrive on tax dollars to be lurking behind the faces of innocent children as they attempt to sugar coat further attempts to raise taxes.
Proponents have charged that growth rates demand new capital projects, the state Medicaid deal is forcing the county to make up revenue, and that nearly $100 million dollars of capital projects must be undertaken now. The sales pitch is 80% for education with the remaining being spent on county and community projects. The truth as revealed in a John Locke Foundation brief is that growth in the county is nominal while revenue increased 9% annually, the student population in public schools is expected to decline by more than 3%, and that the county will come out $1.7 million dollars to the good because of the state assumption of the Medicaid burden.
Proponents of the .25% sales tax increase project $2.8 million dollars in revenue annually with which they can undertake capital projects. With a capital projects list in excess of $100 million dollars it doesn’t take much deduction to realize that there is great debt planned for the citizens.
With fuel and grocery prices continually rising, tolls being planned for the highways, the dollar being inflated out of existence, and the cost of living in general spiraling out of control it behooves politicians to cut spending and shelve all the feel good projects while focusing on only the necessities.
It’s easy to tax an area into poverty but it’s impossible to tax an area into prosperity.
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