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David Britt: All these folks turned out tonight and responded overwhelming to a motion to cut budgets 5%, that should send a very strong message, it doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, or Birthday Party. You believe in efficient, effective government and you’re willing to pay for it. You didn’t just jump on board their motion last week and say “yeah cut cut cut”. You’re smart, you’re intelligent, you realize we have to make investments.

I got three key questions to ask: Who came up with this 5% cut? O’Neal was it yours, was it Jeff’s, was it Michael’s? You all four voted for it. Who came up with this plan? I really want to know, cause I know it didn’t come about last Wednesday at 11:45.

Thankfully Roger tapes these meetings and I went back and watched, you were reading off a prepared text while you were making your amendment. So who came up with this plan? I think the public’s been asking that too. They want to know.

Second question, when did you all come up with the plan of a 5% cut? When did this happen? it didn’t happen during the meeting, there was obviously a lot of discussion prior to when we came in here that I sure would have liked to have heard. I know roger and dale and the public would liked to have heard.

Then the third, why? Why would you do it? Was it about retaliation? Vindictiveness? The ability to silence certain elected officials like our sheriff, our auditor, our coroner, our treasurer? Not only them, but they were speaking on behalf of their employees. Was this a diversionary tactic? It was all about this insurance. I’m tired of it.

This vindictiveness, retribution has been going on for about a year and a half and it started with the whole Greg Hall deal. When he was put on our planning commission and Councilman Nutt found out he didn’t live in Spartanburg County, he lived in Greenville. So what happened? Roger’s the recipient of tons of retribution “We’re going to teach him how to get in line!”

Roger’s not the only one. If you recall back in January when the vice chairman vote came up, guess who also got it because they didn’t go along with O’Neal’s vote on term limits (points to self). (O’Neal begins to speak) No No don’t interrupt me, you did it the other day, don’t even start! (Jane tries to call him on time).

And Dale Culbreth’s a victim of it. I’ve heard just in the last five days that certain council members are out there trying to recruit a candidate to run against him ’cause he voted against the budget. He voted against the parks deal. He voted against last Wednesday’s deal. It’s time for this retribution to stop.

And the Sheriff. The Sheriff spoke back in May at a Republican ladies group in Greer. A question was asked of him, “What do you think about this Parks tax increase?” Said he didn’t agree with it, called O’Neal out in a very nice way. Guess what happens, all heck breaks loose. O’Neal asked him to make another video and he included you guys in it. So what happens? Good way to shut the Sheriff up by cutting his budget $1.1 Million. Just in the sheriff’s dept and the jail $780,00. It would cause him to lose under your plan 45 employees. (All through the county) you’re going to lose 63 people. That was a GREAT PLAN, that not “Miracle Boy” came up with last week, but O’Neal.

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A group of Spartanburg County’s elected officials who do not serve on the County Council came up with a plan to save the council from itself.

The council’s budget-planning process had run off the rails. Rising costs in the county’s health care plan were scheduled to impose major premium increases on county employees. In an effort to eliminate that burden on employees, a group of four council members supported a 5 percent across-the-board cut in the county budget, although some of those council members said they would have rather passed a tax increase.

Other council members called this plan reckless and predicted great damage to county services and a large number of layoffs. They preferred a smaller cut that did less damage to county services and still lowered the health care cost increases to county employees.

Ancillary disagreements included a tax increase to provide more money for parks.

Other county officials, who are responsible for actually delivering public services, could see the damage that would be done to those services. Sheriff Chuck Wright was vocal in his opposition to the across-the-board budget cut, telling county residents that it would make it harder for his department to do its job.

Some council members were annoyed by the sheriff’s remarks about this and the proposed park tax. They had no right to be. The sheriff works for the people of Spartanburg County, not the County Council. His loyalty is to county residents, not council members. He has a right and an obligation to speak out against council moves that he believes will hurt his department and hamper its effectiveness.

But the county’s elected officials did more than publicly oppose a bad plan. They moved to fill the leadership gap. Led by Auditor Sharon West, who devised much of the plan, they gave the council an alternative. It centers on joining the state health care system, which will save the county more than enough to eliminate the premium increase for county employees.

The officials’ plan did not include a tax hike or a 5 percent across-the-board budget cut. A majority on the council had the good sense to grasp the lifeline when it was thrown to them.

The disturbing thing is that three council members did not vote for the plan. Were they that attached to a 5 percent cut? Or were they really hoping for a tax increase?

Spartanburg County residents can thank their non-council elected officials. It isn’t their job to handle the county budget or to solve disputes on the council. But when the council’s actions threatened the public services for which they are responsible, they stepped up and fixed the problem.

Will meet to eat at 6:00 P.M.
Meeting begins at 7:00 P.M.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013 At FATZ

Located behind Fuddruckers on Hwy. 295

Our speaker will be

Sheriff Chuck Wright

Here is the time and location information for the summer Spartanburg County CERT class. This is your last chance to register.

When: Six consecutive Monday nights from July 1, 2013 to August 5, 2013.

Time: 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm

Where: Spartanburg County Office of Emergency Management located at 9039 Fairforest Rd, Spartanburg, 29301

Cost: There is no cost for the classes, however it is requested that you commit to attending a minimum of 5 of the 6 classes.

What: information at http://www.spartanburgcert.org/syllabus.htm

Please let me know by emailing info@spartanburgteaparty.org or calling me at 864.384.7558 if you want to sign up. Today. Going once …

Join them in an online meeting Wednesday at 7 PM, CLICK HERE for the video broadcast.

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The SC Senate, led by the RINOcrat majority, just hours ago took out a $500m mortgage under the guise that it’s the only way that South Carolina can address its infrastructure needs. Now “mortgage” isn’t the term that we used when we argued against this borrowing of Chinese Yuan. “Mortgage” is the term that one of our colleagues used to justify the beeping dump truck that just backed up to your kids’ future. That term, actually, succinctly illustrates the very problem that we identified.

A mortgage, as we always have understood it, is when an individual applies their credit and their future earnings to a purchase for themselves, or for someone for whom they’ve decided to use their credit. The RINOcrat majority, to the contrary, used your credit and your money—and your kids’ money—for that purchase. A mortgage, furthermore, is a vehicle that people use when they don’t have the cash on hand to make the purchase. An individual rarely if ever takes on debt when they have an equivalent amount of cash to make the purchase. They certainly don’t spend their money first on cars and trips and other luxuries and then go into debt, or, if they do, none of us would call that fiscally responsible. And yet that is exactly what the RINOcrat majority did today in the Senate.

RINOcrats got up today and huzzahed the fact that we now have put recurring general fund dollars to infrastructure. Just six years ago (remember when we had all those surpluses?), we tried that very thing with an amendment to put $100m per year into the SCDOT for road maintenance and repair. We were decried as radical and irresponsible, but if that amendment had passed, then we now would have more US dollars in SCDOT than we put there today in Chinese Yuan. Those hundreds of millions of dollars in cash instead went to festivals and museums and other pet projects, including matches for the federal stimulus. We find it strange that the loudest yelps for borrowing come from some of the same individuals who refused to spend cash on hand when we had it.

Another element of this farce was revealed when two of the strongest proponents of financing yet another Chinese factory to compete for American jobs could not even agree on what the Yuan would be spent on. We were told at one point, very loudly and pointedly, that the Yuan would be used only for road construction. We then were told only minutes later that the Yuan would be used for road repair. The two senators in disagreement could not straighten out their stories, and so I guess like Nancy Pelosi said, “we have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.” Columbia is becoming every day more a little Washington on the Congaree.

The bottom line to this tragedy is that when it came time to slap around the taxpayers—and their children—RINOcrats invoked the word “crisis” and cranked up the printing presses. This $500m boondoggle adds to the earlier $120m in corporate welfare that RINOcrats borrowed to give away. The South Carolina Senate loves to spend other people’s money. That we have always known. Now, the Senate has found the path to spend the money of other people’s children, and it will become a well-worn path until the taxpayers say “NO”! The taxpayers can take their first stand by contacting Governor Haley whom we already have strongly encouraged to veto this legislation and keep more Yuan out of South Carolina. Her veto pen is our only hope. She can push “stop” on the printing press by vetoing H.3360.

Senators Shane Martin (R-Pauline) and Kevin Bryant (R-Powdersville).

We also want to thank these courageous Senators: Gerald Malloy (D-Hartsville), Lee Bright (R-Roebuck) and Tom Corbin (R-Tigerville).

Please join Chairman Matt Moore and the South Carolina Republican Party

for a Barbecue Dinner with Special Guest

Senator Rand Paul

Friday, June 28, 2013
6:00 P.M.

South Carolina State Farmer’s Market
3483 Charleston Hwy
West Columbia, SC 29172

Following a turbulent and emotionally charged debate Monday night, Spartanburg County Council passed third and final reading of a budget with no tax increases but with a change to employee health insurance.

The final budget will make Spartanburg County part of the state health insurance plan, a move Councilman David Britt said will save more than $1 million next year, more than eradicating the steep premium increases employees were facing. It also eliminates the proposed half mill tax increase for county parks, and adds an employee and the necessary equipment and renovations to the probate court budget.

The audience cheered and applauded when Britt’s amendments to the budget passed by a vote of 4-3 with councilmen Roger Nutt and Dale Culbreth along with Chairman Jeff Horton joining Britt in the majority.

Britt castigated Mintz, Horton, Brown and Hall for the 5 percent cut proposal, but his criticism focused on Mintz.

“What you did last Wednesday was reckless, it was ill-thought out and poor policy,” Britt said.

Britt questioned the timing of the proposal and suggested it was done to punish Sheriff Chuck Wright and others who have spoken out against the parks tax increase and the hike to employee health insurance costs. A video of Wright speaking to a Republican Women’s group was posted to YouTube on May 20. In the video, Wright criticizes some actions taken by Mintz. In a video posted June 3, Wright points out Horton, Hall and Brown also supported the measures. The 5 percent cut would’ve cost the Sheriff’s Office more than $1 million and nearly that much would’ve come from the jail as well.

And then there’s this. Seriously. Should Jane Hall apologize to the citizens of Enoree for comparing their children to animals?

Hall spoke passionately about the need for the parks tax increase to serve the county’s two most vulnerable populations, children and seniors.

In Enoree, Hall said she received calls about “children running free like animals.” The crowd erupted in boos and Wright stood and shouted to quiet the disorderly crowd.

5% across the board cuts — OUT!

Probate court position included.

County employees will move to state insurance plan, instead of self funding by county. Immediate savings.

Effective, efficient government, adequately funded for the win!

The votes: for effective, efficient government, adequately funded: Roger Nutt, Dale Culbreth, David Britt, Jeff Horton

Against effective, efficient government, adequately funded: Jane Hall, O’Neal Mintz, and Michael Brown.

Now … this also happened at County Council tonight. Oh yes it did! Video to come …

Jane Hall compared the children of Enoree to animals.

and …

O’Neal Mintz called David Britt a liar. Oh and also “Miracle Boy.”

Aren’t you so proud of them?

South Carolina Tea Party groups — warning of an overreaching federal government and massive privacy invasions — are joining calls nationwide to derail education standards called Common Core.

“It doesn’t matter if I like them. It doesn’t matter if you like them or if they like them. We can’t do anything about it,” said Linda Ensor of Summerville, who organized several Tea Party groups to travel to Columbia Wednesday to urge the state Board of Education to rethink its 2010 adoption of Common Core.

South Carolina voluntarily adopted Common Core — K-12 education standards in math, reading and language arts. The standards outline what students should know and know how to do at every grade level.

Critics of Common Core, including state schools Superintendent Mick Zais, say the standards were adopted hastily by a select few and are a “one-size-fits-all solution that won’t serve students well.”

In South Carolina, some object to the fact that two appointed, not elected, education boards adopted the standards.

The state Board of Education and the Education Oversight Committee, the state’s education accountability and policy research arm, adopted the standards. Both boards are appointed by lawmakers and the governor.

Other critics, including state Board of Education member Michael Brenan, say states adopted the standards under the gun of the federal government. President Barack Obama and his Education Department “made no secret that national standards are a priority of their education agenda,” Brenan said in 2010, before voting against the standards.

SO…

#1 Mick Zais is against Common Core

#2 Obama is for Common Core

no brainer, eh?