Thanks
for your series of articles on "regionalism" and the Atlanta Regional
Commission (ARC) meeting on March 27 (Is True Regionalism Possible?)
Regionalism became part of Georgia politics in 2008 with the passage of HB
1216, under Governor Purdue, regions "overseen" by appointed councils
with no responsibility to the taxpayers.
Mayor Eva Galambos reminded ARC's Tad Leithead that regionalism is a
Soviet method. Whether you have a
"d" or "r" after your name politically, most Americans can
agree that we do NOT want to use a Soviet approach to government in America.
This is one of many reasons that the T-SPLOST was defeated.
As we
look at recent decisions in Cobb County, we can see "regionalism"
encroaching on our local sovereignty.
For years, the Cobb commissioners have told us that they do not have
enough money to meet the needs of our county, thus the renewal of the
"temporary" SPLOST again this past year and another
"temporary" tax renewed for the same reasons with the E-SPLOST recently. Today we learned that the commissioners
agreed to "donate" $1 million to several charities.
The
role of local government is NOT to be charitable benefactor. The County should limit expenditures of our
tax dollars to BASIC services only. The
commissioners should reverse that bad decision!
Taxpayers
should have a say in all major financial decisions.
Blatant
examples of this concept appear in the Cobb Comprehensive Plan & the Johnson
Ferry "URBAN" Design Plan that citizens reviewed on 3/20 at the East
Cobb Library. Much of these "local" designs are the federally
mandated "Complete Streets," regional (ARC) "Livable Cities
Initiative," and "Smart Growth" programs which Cobb joined in 2006-2009.
By accepting grants from the federal government & other associated
entities, Cobb considered it critical to spend money on items that are not a
priority to most local citizens.
Do
you wonder why Cobb is tearing up perfectly good sidewalks to replace them with
wider sidewalks and concrete "bunker" medians in perfectly good
streets and zoning for higher density multi-use developments?
There
is another serious side to this. It
becomes more and more challenging to obtain affordable housing.
Claim:
"Smart growth, through its regional approach to development and its goal
of increasing choices in housing and transportation, can improve the quality,
distribution, and supply of affordable housing." (Smart Growth Network
& USA EPA.)
Reality: "Compact development is associated with
restrictions that lead to higher housing prices and a loss of housing
affordability...prohibit development on large areas of otherwise buildable land
by strategies such as urban growth boundaries, building moratoria and other
growth controls." (Wendell Cox)
But
wait, there's more!
Claim: "Given that smart growth programs
typically provide bike lanes, bike racks, sidewalks, and priced parking, they
should increase the share of bike/walk commutes or at least retard its
decline." (Lincoln Land Institute)
Reality:
"Overall biking/walking mode share is in decline. Biking and walking paths/trails are still
being proposed at a construction cost of around $26,000/mile plus $1600/year
for maintenance. Meanwhile, roads used for shipping of goods and getting people
to work will need repairs averaging $78.9 Billion (in the US) over the next 10
years." (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy)
Please
refer to the American Coalition for Sustainable Communities for more details.
Our
elected officials appear to be misinformed on the realities of
"sustainable" plans. Please look
at the Cobb Comprehensive Plan available here. http://comdev.cobbcountyga.gov/documents/CommunityAgendaApproved_3.22.11.pdf
Encourage
our elected officials to listen to the citizens of Cobb County (rather than the
mere 100 "stakeholders" involved out of a population of almost
800,000.) We encourage all elected officials to STOP taking federal and other
community grants with costly detrimental strings attached. During these tough
economic times, isn't it time to use good common sense? Rather than a federally mandated/regional
cookie cutter approach, why not do what is best for our community based on
LOCAL CRITERIA and the needs of citizen taxpayers?
Source:
April 10, 2013 Letter to Editor, Marietta Daily Journal, by Mrs. Jan Barton, Marietta,
GA , Retired
Technology Consultant and Project Manager
No comments:
Post a Comment