April
19, 2010
SOME
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TWG
The TWG started in 2001. The reason it was started was because the
Board of Assessors office was a total joke.
The chief appraiser was not qualified, members of the BOA were not
certified, the tax digest was never sent to the State on time and was not
correct, and the county paid big fines every year.
TWG has brought many things to light in this county
and things have changed. Look at the BOA
office now. We would bet it is probably
one of the best in the State. TWG has
always sent emails out about the budget, the BOC meetings, and other things
that go on in the county.
Mary Patrick, now Commissioner Patrick, started the
TWG in 2001. Meetings were held each
month and were attended by 20 people and more—sometimes as many as 50
people. Cheryl Nowetner and Juanita
Gazaway, now co-chairs of TWG, were original members of TWG. They have attended BOC meetings for years,
helped with the newsletters, and then took over TWG when Mary Patrick was
elected to the BOC.
You will never guess who used to attend TWG. Jack Bernard!
That’s right, during most all of 2004 when he first ran for election, he
attended the TWG and supported everything TWG did. Jack always signed in and spoke during agenda
comments and was all for open government.
Jack even asked for the TWG’s support during his first campaign. He made many promises during the TWG meetings,
including not funding JCWSA.
The TWG is now condemned by Comm. Bernard for doing
what they’ve always done--report on the meetings and what goes on. He has repeatedly sent out ugly emails about
TWG and “Mary Patrick” who he tries to link to the TWG; he says she still sends
out the TWG emails. He has told people
that we (Cheryl and Juanita) don’t have enough sense or knowledge to put out
the TWG newsletter. We hate to bust his bubble but Mary Patrick has nothing to
do with sending out these newsletters. We will continue to send out emails about
what goes on in the meetings and if any of the BOC members don’t like it, too
bad.
Looking back it seems like Comm. Bernard has become more vocal and
more ugly towards Comm. Patrick ever since LARP money was awarded for Jackson
Lake Rd. This is
something he didn’t do and said couldn’t be done. He never put it on the LARP list during his
previous term in office. He didn’t add
it to the SPLOST list either. Now he
wants to borrow money or use SPLOST money promised for other roads. Comm. Patrick,
Comm. Pennamon, and Comm. Cox don’t agree and vote over and over not to do so. THREE commissioners don’t agree with him, but
he only condemns Comm. Patrick.
She is his target and he was asked about this at the town hall
meeting. Comm. Bernard said he had to
defend himself. He even put it in an
email that it would be in Comm. Patrick’s “political best interest” to
vote with him on Jackson Lake Rd. What does that mean? Is this a threat?
Comm. Bernard says TWG supports a $7.5 million
budget instead of the $8.2 million budget he voted for. TWG supports
NO particular budget, but TWG does support NO tax increases and NO deficit
spending.
We would like to assure the people that entrust
their email addresses to the TWG that we do not give your addresses out to
anyone. Your newsletter is sent directly
to you! We have had people call and say
they are receiving nasty emails from a commissioner that somehow got their
address.
Please forward this to your friends and neighbors
and if they would like to receive the email have them contact us at taxpayerwatchdogs@yahoo.com. We’ll be glad to add them to our list.
Juanita Gazaway & Cheryl Nowetner, Co-Chairs
ONE
OF THE RECENT EMAILS FROM JACK BERNARD
From: Jack Bernard <bernard_jack@hotmail.com>
To: recipient <bernard_jack@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wed, April 7, 2010 10:21:09 PM
Subject: JLR SPLOST PAVING MOTION FAILS, BOC meeting,4-5-10
JACKSON LAKE ROAD SPLOST PAVING MOTION FAILS
ON 3-2 BOC VOTE
On a 3-2 vote, the BOC voted not to use SPOLST
(sales tax) funds to pave Jackson
Lake Road . The vote on this ammendment was 3
against: PATRICK, Pennamon and Cox. Bernard and Hill were for it.
Also
at Monday’s meeting, per the TWG, “Comm. Pennamon made the motion to do East Bullard Rd.
and Feldspar Rd.
with SPLOST money. Comm. Patrick agreed but they lost the
vote 2-3.”
This action just confirms what I have said all
along: JLR will not be paved as it should be (i.e. through reclamation of the
road base, not just laying 1" of asphalt over a deteriorated road) until Mary Patrick decides that it is in her political best
interest to vote to do so. Her strategy thus far has been to attack
me through TWG emails and to confuse interested people with misleading
information about state LARP funding. See my earlier emails as
to what the state will pay for (i.e. $84,000 of the total $1.7 million
needed).
