Previously on Recountings from the County: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
And miss, they sure did – the Commissioners, Republicans all (at least for now – Ed Philpot, a Democrat, will be assuming the seat being vacated by Buddy Daignault – but that’s more fodder for yet another "Recounting from the County"), decided just a day later that they needed to put back into the budget all but two agencies:
- Belknap County Economic Development Council
- Genesis Behavioral Health (mental health agency)
So all that hue and cry – and what did it get this trio of Republicans? While I still (believe it or not) give them kudos for trying to hew back to basic principles, as far as I can tell, all they got for their trials and tribulations was just a massive amount of negative approbation.
What was accomplished? Nothing. Has it made it more difficult for Republicans going forward in the future? Not clear. Did it help the Republican cause? Different people may think differently, but as it played out in my opinion, all the Republicans managed to do was to create a fuss and showed that they did not have the courage of their stated convictions. Does that help? Who got held accountable?
Certainly in the town where I live, we have fought this battle and not backed down. I look at the percentage rise in government spending at our local level and I can smile a bit. We took a lot of flak (and Doug has been taking a ton of flak for a ton of years now) but the results were worth it. The town is not being starved of funding, services are not going undone – and the town is proceeding along the path of "what is the proper role?". Sure it makes one look bad, and sure one is going to take it on the chin from those that have not had "No" told to them in a long while – but no one can say that the town is not working. Well, ok, they can, but can they back it up?
We have counseled others and they are having some successes in the local area as well. I can say to a town to our north, Meredith, who (along with a lot of other towns with lots of waterfront properties) failed to control their spending are going to be in a world of hurt this year – the bill is about to become due for not paying attention to taxpayers’ concerns.
Oh, back to the agencies. This is one reason why a limited government is more desirable. The BCEDC was started by grants and some "donations" by local governments – it was supposed to be self-funding years ago. Yet, in the name of bringing business to the area, it still looks for handouts from the taxpayers. So ask yourself – has its goal been reached? Or because it has not reached its own goal of being self-sufficient, should it be shut down? Of course, the BCEDC officials are saying "well, we can survive, but we can do so much more with more money!"
So could the ‘Grok, but nobody’s giving us, a private entity, more government money so as to allow us to do more!
Certainly, a lesson that a more limited government is a more efficient government – if a program is not working or meeting its goals, evaluate its results and keep it – or let it go; hold programs accountable. It is not intentions that count – it is results. Instead, marshal those resources to something else. It seems that only in government, will programs that do not work continue to get funding.
Why? For exactly one of the reasons Recountings from the County is being written. Many of these groups say that they have strong community support – HORSEPUCKY!
The support they have is by targeting politicians that control the purse strings – and here in the County, it has been Republicans that have freely said yes to request after request after request. For a couple of years, I have tried to return the phrase "community support" back to its original meaning – community means just that – individuals from the community are the community and not just the politicians that represent them. When you have community support, you have ordinary citizens in that community that will stand up and say "Yes, I will support you either my time, my talent, or my money (or any combination thereof)".
"Community Support" should not be defined at the ability to separate politicians from taxpayer money.
Or, in the case of Genesis, use a different funding methodology. Here, Genesis has a built in advantage – supporters who have served on their board(s) are now elected officials that can now steer government money their way during the budget process itself!
Legal? Yes. Ethical? To them, probably. They see a need that government has to fill. The problem, in using taxpayer money instead of rousing individuals to rally around a cause, they do cause government to grow – the antithesis of what the Republican plank states.
But it also calls into play the sense of ethics and another Republican Platform – a call for more open and transparent government. I have already asked the Belknap County Administrator for all future meeting minutes of all of the subcommittees of the County Convention as they go through their budget process – I want to know when and who decides to put back the funding for Genesis and expanding government. Once such person who may is Alida Milham (the newly elected Belknap County Convention Chair – again, fodder for yet another path in "Recountings from the County"). Another is Jim Pilliod (remember, the politician who used the force of government to alter the playing field of commerce by choosing one marina’s commercial interests over others).
It will be informative to see if any elected official with current or past close associations to either Genesis or BCEDC will recuse themselves when it comes to budgetary affairs? And then, will the Republican Party hold them accountable?
Or, now that the Commissioners budget has been handed over to the Delegation, will we see any Republicans will to actually vote for a more limited government? Do they have the courage to stand up where the Commissioners sat down?
We’ll have to wait and see.
