In an unfortunate decision last night the City of Eagle choose to pad its own savings account by taking money out of the pockets of its citizens.  The people of Eagle will see a levy rate increase on their property tax this year; a year where so many of us are struggling to make ends meet.  The reason for this; the City wanted more of a cushion for the 2011 budget.  At the end of the four hour long debate, there was a workable solution on the table:  instead of a $700,000 cushion, lower it to the actual amount needed to pay the first quarter expenses for the 2011 fiscal year, which is $350,000.  Had that been agreed upon, there would have not been a tax increase.  However the City wanted more.  Council President Michael Huffaker and Bandy appointee Jeanne Jackson-Heim voted to increase the tax, while Al Shoushtarian and Norm Semanko voted against it. Mayor Phil Bandy cast the tie breaking vote in favor of the tax increase.

The latest trend in politics is to call a tax an “investment” and Mayor Bandy’s statement, “…the Citizens of Eagle are getting a tremendous bargain based upon [sic] amount of property taxes you are investing in your community” is a line right out of the DNC playbook. (www.cityofeagle.com, 9/4/2009)   We are hearing politicians every day in the news defending raising taxes and government spending by using the term “investing.”  And these same politics and political speak have found their way into Eagle, with Mayor Bandy recently taking 20 paragraphs on the front page of the city’s website defending his desire to increase taxes on the people of Eagle.  Add Councilwoman Jeanne Jackson-Heim’s reason for raising taxes “because our current taxes are ‘peanuts’ compared to other cities,” and we have an alarming situation in Eagle City Hall.

Last night Mayor Bandy accused Councilman Semanko of being “irrational” in his desire to help the people of Eagle by not raising taxes; asking Semanko “why are we cutting taxes just for the sake of cutting taxes?” Jackson-Heim offered insight into this bureaucratic mindset at city hall by repeatedly referring to the taxes we pay as “revenue” to the city.  She justified the tax increase because she wanted to maintain the “revenue” into the city.   When the rest of us experience a decrease in revenue, we make the hard decisions to cut our expenses.  When revenue falls even more, we make further cuts.  Not so at Eagle City Hall.  When revenue falls our city leaders raise taxes to try to maintain their spending level.

Recently, I heard a man walking out of a grocery store speaking on his cell phone and proudly proclaiming that he was able to put food on his table that week.  Many of us are in this same situation; doing what we can to scale back our budgets to match our reduction in income.  It is wrong for a politician to take money away from the people in his or her community, when those people are struggling just to keep up the basic necessities of food, water and shelter.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Post from: Saundra McDavid

City of Eagle votes to raise taxes

At the budget hearing last night, Mayor Bandy claimed that no one was against raising the levy rate and thus raising the taxes.  Please write to him and the other council members to voice your opposition to increasing the levy rate, which will affect your personal property taxes in 2010.

all of the Eagle city council members and the mayor can be reached by sending an e-mail to eaglecity@cityofeagle.org. Letters must be received by September 8th.

My letter was sent today:
Dear Mayor and City Council;

I urge to you to take Councilmen Semanko and Shoushtarian’s lead in saying “No” to raising the levy rate.  Concerning to me after last night’s budget hearing was the use of semantics to try to classify the levy increase as something other than a tax increase.  If the property assessment goes down, and the levy stays at the same rate as it was in 2009, our property taxes would decrease.  Mayor Bandy’s proposed budget increases the levy rate in 2010 by 20% and thus increases the property taxes that we will have to pay based on the assessed value of our homes.  This eliminates the property tax decrease that we all so desperately need.  And semantics aside, increasing a tax when so many of us are struggling to make ends meet is irresponsible.

Also concerning was the statement from Mayor Bandy, that since four people testified on behalf of keeping some funds in the budget for the Eagle Historical Society, that no one was against raising taxes.   This is a classic logical fallacy that even my first year critical thinking students would have no trouble identifying.  Mayor Bandy did not ask those who testified what they thought of raising the taxes, and it appears he has not asked anyone in the city that he is supposed to be representing.

It was disappointing to see that Mayor Bandy and his appointed councilwoman Jeanne Jackson-Heim appear to be out of touch with the residents of Eagle, implying that we prefer to spend the taxpayers’ money on staffing up in order to have the personnel to attend bureaucratic meetings throughout the Treasure Valley, instead of focusing the budget on services that directly affect the residents like police protection, library services, and animal control.

And alarming to me is Councilwoman Jeanne Jackson-Heim’s statements and justifications for raising the levy rate, her refusal to answer my questions and her desire to rush the budget through without further discussions on reducing the expenses.  She was not receptive to any suggestions on reducing the budget, making comments along the lines of it being “wholly inappropriate” to be discussing cost cutting measures. Councilwoman Jackson-Heim stated that we should raise the levy rate because Eagle’s tax rate is “peanuts” compared to other cities.  What she failed to consider is that Eagle’s property values are higher than the surrounding cities, so that even with a lower levy rate compared to our neighboring cities, we are paying more in property taxes per household.  She claimed repeatedly that she was “okay” with raising taxes, that she “won’t apologize if [she raises] the mill levy” and that she is “perfectly fine with a small increase in taxes.” During a break in the hearing I asked Councilwoman Jackson-Heim by how much she was willing to raise taxes and she refused to answer me.  When I asked her why she would not consider passing a budget that set a more realistic reserve and eliminated the need for raising taxes, she became flustered and left the room.

Creating a budget that has a carryover reserve to protect against the need for debt is a noble goal, however increasing the taxpayers’ burden in order for you to reach your goals is not the way to achieve them.

Sincerely,

Saundra McDavid

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Post from: Saundra McDavid

Say “No” to increased taxes!

The two seats currently held by Phil Bandy’s appointees are up for election.  Candidates need to file a Declaration of Candidacy no later than Friday, September 4th at 5:00 pm.

The election will be on November 3rd this year.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Post from: Saundra McDavid

Eagle City Council Candidates Wanted!

Andrew’s Rib Shack is looking for a new home. The operations are now focused solely on catering until owner Andrew Petrehn can locate a new spot for his restaurant. Eagle Rib Shack was closed in December and Andrew’s Rib Shack in Meridian was closed last week. “We are still searching for the ideal restaurant location, and when we find it we’ll open back up.” Petrehn said. “Now, more than ever, location means everything.”

For now, barbecue lovers can continue to get the award winning Rib Shack food via Rib Shack Catering. Accommodating groups of ten or more, the famous food can be delivered throughout the Boise metropolitan area for business lunches, graduations, weddings, tailgate parties and any time people need a barbecue fix. Delivery is available to job sites, offices, homes and outdoor events. The Rib Shack will also be making appearances at special events throughout Idaho. Petrehn looks forward to competing in more barbecue contests over the summer with the hopes of adding more awards to his collection. Contact Andrew at 938-0008 for more information, or visit the website at AndrewsRibShack.com.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Post from: Saundra McDavid

Rib Shack focuses on catering, closes restaurants

In 1975 2,500 orphans were airlifted out of war-torn Vietnam and flown to homes in the United States and around the world in an initiative implemented by President Ford. Thirty years later some of those orphans are finding themselves threatened with deportation.

Michael Frailey was one of the Vietnamese children rescued by Operation Babylift. He arrived in the United States on April 4, 1975 to the welcoming arms of his adoptive parents, Gordon and Ginny Frailey of Arnold, Missouri.   Michael spent the next 34 years growing up as an American; enlisting in the Air National Guard and serving his country for six years, some of that time overseas, voting in elections, establishing a career at Xerox where he has worked for 21 years and getting married.  It wasn’t until Michael applied for a passport to take a scuba trip to Belize when he was 29 that he realized something was amiss.  The adoption paperwork had not been properly filed back in the 70’s.  Even though he had a social security number, adoption papers and a driver’s license, he was not a United States Citizen according to the INS (now USCIS).  In fact, according to USCIS, he was an illegal alien and now in danger of being deported.

During the next 13 years, Michael struggled through countless agencies and organizations, hiring an attorney and tracking his journey all the way back to the organization that arranged for his adoption back in the 70’s.   His investigation has put him in touch with other Operation Babylift orphans who are facing the same struggles.  President Ford’s Operation Babylift children are having their lives thrown in turmoil once again by bureaucratic paperwork.

Michael’s story has a happy ending.  After beginning the immigration process as if he had just arrived in the country (communicable disease tests, shots, background investigation, paperwork and time requirements) his struggle with USCIS ended on February 2, 2009 as he was sworn in as a US Citizen.  However there are more than 200,000 foreign-adopted children already living in the U.S. Many of them are facing the same problems as Frailey and are afraid to come forward for fear of being deported.   Others will not realize that there is a problem until they apply for passports and then will face the same nightmare from which Frailey has recently emerged.

Congress has acted to fix the problem for all new adoptees.  In 2001, the Child Citizenship Act (CCA) became effective, which allows any child under the age of 18 who is adopted by a U.S. citizen and immigrates to the United States to acquire immediate citizenship.  However this law provides no protection for older children, who through no fault of their own are facing deportation due to missing paperwork.  The children of Operation Babylift have been forgotten in the process.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Post from: Saundra McDavid

The forgotten children of Operation Babylift