Commissioners Expected to Raise Your Tax Bill by approving New Revaluation at July 12, 2022 Meeting!! Report, commentary and predictions by Robert A

According to a Commissioner’s vote at the last Commissioner’s meeting there will be a vote this coming Tuesday, July 12, 2022 to approve a revaluation of your property for property tax revenue purposes. The agenda for that meeting has not been made available to the public. And you can expect it NOT to be made public until after the vote has been made. This is basically a way to keep the taxpaying public unawares until the dastardly deed has been done. It is surely a dirty trick, but the Commissioners, the School Board and the CCC Board of Trustees like it that way. They all raise your taxes and when and if you complain, it is too late to do anything about it. And why not. Come election time you Cleveland County Citizens and voters have forgotten all about it and reelect the incumbents on their false promises NOT to raise your taxes.

Now, before we go any further, remember this prediction. The Commissioners, the taxing authority in Cleveland County, will be telling you, all of you, that the revaluation, as related to tax bills will be “Revenue Neutral.” Which is a well-planned and deliberate deception. It does NOT mean that your tax bills will be exactly equal to what they were the last year before revaluation, as one might expect. NOOOooo!!! The tax people, under County Manager Brian Epley and the Commissioners have taken this bureaucrat formula for “revenue neutral” that includes all kinds of coverup gimmicks that will allow the revaluation to result in Revenue Neutral Tax Bills that are significantly HIGHER than they were before the revaluation. They might even say you taxpayers have gotten a Tax Cut, as Commissioners Doug Bridges is fond of saying about last years revaluation. Although the extra money from higher tax bills resulted in several Millions of dollars MORE collected from you taxpayers. Including Robert A. Sometimes Robert A wonders why he is the only person in Cleveland County that has figured out this revaluation, revenue neutral, yet higher tax bill scam the County Manager and the Commissioners are pulling over on us all.

And, what do the foolish Commissioners also do?

1.They vote to have a referendum on the 2022 Elections Ballot to increase our sales tax.
2.They give away much of the increased money from last years revaluation to the American Legion World Series, Baseball, Inc., Eddie Holbrook’s company, so they can throw a fancy, invited guests only party amongst themselves as well as additional $$$ for reasons unknown. It seems Mr. Holbrook “forgot” to send the Commissioners any financial statements that showed he needed the $425,000 the commissioners gave him, so the Commissioners foolishly gave him the money anyway. Kevin Gordon, Doug Bridges, Ronnie Whetstine and Johnny Hutchings voted to give Holbrook the money. Commissioner Deb Hardin wisely voted NO!!
3.The Commissioners then signed a contract with the Cleveland County Fair Board. The Fair Company will give Cleveland County exactly ONE DOLLAR per year to lease the Fair Grounds. The County will give the Fair Board $167,000 per year to HAVE the Fair and an additional $100,000 per year in capital funds to spend on whatever the Fair Board wants to spend it on.

Maybe the Fair Board will throw themselves a big party just like Mr. Holbrook did?

So, folks. The Commissioners are going to vote this coming Tuesday evening, July 12, 2022, at 6 PM Whether or not to revaluate your property, which will RAISE your tax bill. Come join Robert A and sign up for Citizens Participation and demand NO REVALUATION until eight full years after the last revaluation-which was last year.

Also, don’t pay attention to any letter from the NC Department of Revenue that requires Cleveland County to do a revaluation. That letter was likely based on misleading and manipulated information provided to them by County Manager Brian Epley. All the hoopla about wildly increasing home sale prices has already started to evaporate. And the 3,600 permits to build new houses hasn’t seemed to result in any new houses on the market. Some have speculated that County Manager Brian Epley has secretly delayed sewer and septic tank inspections for those 3,600 permits that have shut down or delayed construction on new homes as an artificial means to manipulate home sales in such a way as to increase prices.

Robert A predicts the Commissioners will not be so bold. That they will vote to approve what will be a new tax bill increase dumped upon Cleveland County citizens.

Now, since Robert A has been encouraged to run for Commissioner in 2024 and is actively thinking about it, Robert A says that if HE were a commissioner and voting on this issue, Robert A’s vote would be NO to any revaluation at this time.

Robert A would demand that the Commissioners appeal any demand from the NC Department of Revenue to a higher authority, and there are higher authorities. Robert A would also demand an accounting from the County Manager regarding any delays in such a way as to determine any manipulation of new home construction and the sale of existing and remodeled or refurbished homes. And take the appropriate disciplinary action.

Robert A, in regard to a WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) evaluation, is reminded of when Jesus entered the Temple and discovered widespread corruption amongst the Money-changers. Jesus took up a whip and thrashed the money-changers that had defiled the Temple. Driving them all out in the process. Like Jesus, Robert A doesn’t take kindly to corruption in government. Of any kind, shape or form. Although it would be hard to get by using a whip in this day and time, Robert A would find a proper way to rid Cleveland County Government of any corruption (and waste of taxpayer’s money) that might be found. Just like Jesus. No matter what the means to do so might be.

Robert A also often wonders why Cleveland County leaders have, so far, decided NOT to support the teachings of Jesus Christ as best as they can??? It just seems so obvious that NOT to do so has brought Cleveland County to where they are today. LGTQ-XYZ and CRT materials have saturated our schools and libraries. Violence too. I suppose many would say that Jesus doing what He did to the money-changers was wrong because it was violent. I also suppose that same crowd would say that God was wrong by destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. Know that Robert A would never say such a thing…