Went to a local store, and then was asked why Harper was not removing debris at upper site and the gates were all locked up. Told the person, that the City was supposed to have the keys and Mr. Harding was alleged to be checking each load in and out. He wasn't there either.
After several days of the infamous back and forth with it appears budget proposals passing each other like ships in the night with no running lights and suddenly the Legislature passes a bill that while I have not seen the details and we all know the Devil is forever in the Details is now up to Mr. Justice.
Mr. Hall of Senate fame notes it was passed to avoid a state government shutdown. I am going to suggest the Legislature panicked and blinked? Said a few days back that I would bet on the Bureaucrats over the Legislature. State shutdown may well have allowed the dirt to use a nice word to rise to the surface? As was posted before, the State noted it had a $100,000,000 dollar carryover to carry it along for a while after 1 July if need be?
With again way too many of the Senate ( 7) MIA and 11 of the Delegates, it appeared that many of the Districts had little or no participation in the final vote? It is true that had the MIA folks been present, not much likelihood of a change; but for sure the voted upon participation that the voters thought they would have?
One item that did get attention was the increase in the budget to give back $3.9 million to the Department of Education while doing an additional 2% cut to most State Colleges and Universities. One Mr. Rowe made the point that the cuts to the State Schools would be made up by increased tuitions. I would ask "Why"? Instead of literally screwing the kids/ families by raising their costs, maybe the Schools should try some real world economics and CUT the dam expenses? Why, did the Legislature not include a proviso that the Schools would have to make cuts to meet their allocations versus passing it on to the Students? Again, Economics to Scale would be a wonderful example to show and follow.
At the same time as the results dropped in the budget votes, a Mr. Lamkin from WVU-P was getting his letter to the editors printed on how it is meeting the shortfalls by streamlining the way the School operates. But of course as with any of the Deans, Provosts, Presidents- you call it, it becomes a plea for yet MORE funding.
I am sure you all have heard of the movie "The Money Pit", wherein a couple bought a fixer upper home and than found that it was an ongoing and disastrous need for more and more money to maybe finally fix it up? Well, in I would suspect ANY State, the School System is a money pit? No matter how much, for what and when, it does not seem to ever get better for those with the needs. I call them Students; the appropriate System calls them donors. And for the Systems, it is fortunate that more enter the System every year.
And on the distaff side, we have Mr. Mullen who believes contrary to the State that we should have no tax increases. I can in THIS case agree with him. But we are in a minority consisting of probably the majority of people who live here and tighten and tighten with each increase that seems to end up more than needed in pay raises; benefit increases or premium payments by the State to pay them versus the employee in question? The State clearly 'buys stuff". As we have all been told several times, the State Fleet is way beyond any real need more than a person in a position who can not or will not use a "pool" vehicle.
I at least am waiting on Mr. Justice now that the Legislature blinked and the ball is in his court. Sign or Veto is the next chapter in the 2017-2018 adventure book?
Am doing some "Truth in Advertising" here. What I posted for yesterday, left out two major words: This is the first year that the VUB/ City has put Health Premium money in an account for the Water/ Sewer parts of the VUB. 'nuff said'.