In the midst of the already exploding scandals at Cleveland Community College, Cleveland County Schools, Commissioners, DA’s Office and the Economic Development crowd, we are not being fooled into overlooking what just happened to the volunteer fire districts in Cleveland County at the May 2, 2017 Commissioner’s meeting. Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!!! The Commissioners just got revenge for taxpayers voting down their phony sales tax increase in the 2016 election. They just raised your taxes without your vote of approval. Heck, without you even knowing about it or knowing the details. For Fallston and other districts that’s a 75% increase. Anytime you have to raise taxes by 75%, it’s a sure sign of bad leadership amongst the Commissioners. Nothing new about that.
And, let’s not forget, in Cleveland County politics there are always winners and there are always losers. Again Kings Mountain and Shelby are again the winners and the rest of us are the losers. You would think the rest of us would get the message. Vote the Commissioner fools out of office.
We haven’t done that so this is what we get for not having district representation on the Boards of Commissioners and the School Board too. And, especially us not getting out candidates and then getting out to vote the trash out of office and put our people in office.
Now for the details of how we got screwed on this fire tax increase. And how we screwed ourselves.
I will start this report from the bottom line. The City of Shelby will spot annex the Clearwater Paper property. The county taxes and Shelby city taxes on all that expensive property (about $500 millions in land and equipment) that is presently in the county will now go to the commissioners and the City of Shelby. ALL property remaining in Cleveland County Volunteer Fire Districts will have their property Fire Tax increased by 3.75 cents. Yeah, Shelby got the gold mine and we got the shaft. The lying commissioners have convinced all the volunteer firemen that they will get additional money too, but the bottom line on that is they will also be paying much higher taxes. Excuse me, We, make that WEEEEEE will be paying higher taxes.
Paying 75% higher taxes for what was never mentioned or discussed. Just like the sales tax increase on the 2016 Ballot never told what the money would actually be going for, the discussion and vote by the commissioners to raise the fire tax 75% never mentioned a word about where this money would go for except for one thing. $120,000 per fire district to pay the volunteer firemen-some of whom will be paid and most will not be paid. That is a sure formula for disaster if I ever did see one. The ones getting paid will stay and the volunteers will all leave.
All of this was presented in a fancy slide show that apparently fooled all the volunteer firemen that filled the room. The firemen were told that the fire tax increase for an average house would only go up about $5 a month. Carefully forgetting to say taxes are collected on a yearly basis and that $5 per month is actually $60 more on your tax bill. A big jump.
