Big promises, high hopes...

Newly elected Fayette County Commissioner's Allen McCarty and Steve Brown were sworn in Monday morning. Brown brought a 10-point list of promises to constituents and McCarty spoke of changes that would be made when the pair were sworn into office.

It all sounded good, especially to the crowd attending the early morning ceremony.

However, all one had to do was take a look at the faces of Commissioner Herb Frady and County Manager Jack Krakeel as they watched to see how difficult it is going to be for the two new commissioners to keep some of their promises.

The two new commissioners are going to be in the minority. If the other three commissioners stick together, as is expected, the West Fayetteville Bypass will continue to move ahead. With Frady as the new Commission Chairman, as is expected, much will be hidden and more deals will be cut behind closed doors.

The one wild card I see in the mix over the next two years is that at least two of the Commissioners will be running for re-election in 2012. Speculation is that Frady will have achieved his goal to be Chairman and, given his age, will decide not to run again. Robert Horgan has expressed a desire to run for re-election despite ethics problems resulting from his arrest for marijuana possession and use. Lee Hearn, who is recovering from a fairly serious operation that turned out to be not as serious as it could have been (thank goodness) will also probably run again.

The public is adamant that what is most often called the 'bypass to nowhere' should go nowhere. They want it stopped. The three remaining commissioners from the 'old batch' have consistently voted to move it forward.

Jack Smith, Eric Maxwell, Hearn, Frady and Horgan made the decision during their tenure to stop building the East Fayetteville Bypass (one of the projects included in the SPLOST), wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars, and chose to start work on the three-phase West Fayetteville Bypass. Phase one was a high priority, taking traffic around the hospital. Phase two and three were low priorities. They bypassed much needed road projects in the SPLOST and opted to move forward on the last two phases of the Bypass. Per those who included the bypass in the SPLOST, the last two phases of the road shouldn't have been considered for many years to come, and then ONLY if conditions in the county changed substantially.

Smith, Maxwell and the remaining trio on the Commission have said all along that they were forced to do it because we voted for it in the SPLOST... yet they chose not to do other projects on that same list, and, as said earlier, chose to stop another project already in progress. Make sense to anyone? It sure gives rise to head scratching as to why.

If Horgan and Hearn stick with the project it's a sure thing they'll go down in flames when they run for re-election. The crowd that attended the swearing in was larger than any in past ceremonies. These folks are active and they are working to make some changes on the Board. It's part of the movement that has been sweeping across the country - people are paying attention and they want accountability. Those who worked locally to unseat Maxwell and Smith will not go away and are already working on the next election.

Over the next two years, well four since that's the term of elections, we're going to be hearing about everything that happens during commission meetings. Any secret deals will be made public --- Steve Brown is known for speaking his mind and sharing with the public, so that one is a given. McCarty comes across as a quiet, thoughtful person, but I gather he is not shy when it comes to issues he feels strongly about. No matter what, like the votes or not, we will know what is going on.

McCarty and Brown may not be able to do anything other than shout from the rooftops if the other three vote in lock-step though.

My expectation is that sometimes one or more of the others will break ranks and vote with McCarty and Brown, but not on issues of any importance. I expect the other three to conspire to shut them out. I expect the three remaining commissioners to continue to vote in ways that irk the majority of voters on projects favorable to developers. Frady has a reputation for being fairly crafty when it comes to determining public opinion. I expect he'll throw the public some bones to make us think he's listening, do some things that'll garner some nice headlines and have a chunk of voters saying "awww, that's a good vote". But when it comes to substance and the direction they're taking the county, we'll be reeling for years to come.

I  hope I'm wrong. I hope that ALL of the commissioners will be able to put aside their own personal quirks, desires, and friendships to vote for what is best for the county. The problem with voting on what is best for the county is that I'm pretty sure Jack Smith was voting in ways that he felt were best for the county. Most of us have a different vision of the future than he seems to have. I suppose I should amend the sentiment in that first sentence to say I hope they'll vote for what the majority of us feel is best for the county.

It's going to be an interesting next few years!

Fayette County Commission Closes Year with Controversial Votes

Wow. I haven't been to a Commission meeting in a while but figured with the controversial West Fayetteville Bypass on the agenda it'd be a good one to hit. Especially as I'm a NIMBY (not in my back yard-er) now...the Bypass will go right in front of my home.

Yes, the Bypass was a hot issue and a number of people were there to speak against it, but other things popped up that made it a jam-packed night of controversial issues.

Former County Commissioner Harold Bost blasted the Commissioners for spreading lies about his time in office. They have said in public meetings and in social settings (that part's hearsay) that Bost was forced to resign. They said he was a disgraced Commissioner, it was discovered that he was actually a resident of Florida when he ran and / or served in office and that he was forced to resign as a result.

Bost brought tax records, voting records, homestead exemption records and proof of residency going back to his birth and showed that he was a legal resident of Georgia the entire time he was in office. He stated that no one would be able to force him not to do anything.

Eric Maxwell stared off into space during Bost's comments and finally asked Jack Smith, Chairman, to cut him off.

The Commission also voted 3 - 1 to give final approval of Democrat and Republican appointments to the Board of Elections to themselves. Up until the vote each of the two top political parties in the county appointed a member of the Board of Elections and the Commission appointed one. With this move five Republicans will now have the final say in who the Democrat and Republican Party appoint.

Maxwell spoke against the move and voted against it. Lee Hearn was absent due to illness.

The Commissioners voted 4-0 to approve a conceptual plan for the final phase of the very controversial West Fayetteville Bypass. The Bypass will continue down Lester Road cutting off the fronts and backs of numerous properties, completely wiping out four or five home properties and make major changes to the configuration of the road. It will snake down Ebenezer Church, move across Redwine, build a new segment through properties that will connect back into Harp Road then end at Hwy 85.

The meeting ended with Maxwell and Smith saying goodbye and thanks with a major part of their farewell speeches spent justifying their votes and actions. More on that later!

Herb Frady all but crowed when Maxwell said he'd be coming to the first meeting of next year to see the selection of Chairman. With a three-two majority I'd be shocked if Frady isn't selected by Lee Hearn and Robert Horgan. Especially since Smith has already carried Frady down to the ARC so he could introduce him to everyone.

Steve Brown and Allen McCarty are going to be outvoted by the trio in most cases over the next two years. However, that doesn't mean it's going to be a quiet two years as anyone who's familiar with Brown knows.

Unfortunately, with the Frady-Horgan-Hearn three-some having the majority for at least two more years we're probably going to get more of the same that we've had these past four years. Then again, Horgan and Hearn will be running for election so maybe they'll listen to the majority of Fayette voters on some issues. Frady will be up for re-election also, but who knows if he'll go for one more term.

I filmed the meeting and am in the process of putting together some YouTube videos of the important parts of the meeting for you.

West Fayetteville Bypass Blues

Last Thursday the County Commission approved the West Fayetteville “Bypass”. It was a unanimous vote, 5-0.

[Just a tidbit in case you’re wondering --- the West Fayetteville Bypass (WFB) is not a Bypass. It’s just a road. At some point someone called it a Bypass and the name stuck. It’s not intended to bypass anything.]

It was a foregone conclusion that they were going to approve it, but not for the reasons stated in their various explanations as they voted. I know I have a tendency to be a bit skeptical about the motivation of the Commissioners, but last Thursday’s gnashing of teeth and sackcloth lamenting about being forced to vote for the By-pass was sublime theater.

A few of the Commissioners intimated that their hands were tied... There was a SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax), which the voters barely passed in 2003, that included the project thus they had to move forward… Those nasty Commissioners before them forced them into this tough position...

Not so.

They do not HAVE to do all the projects in the SPLOST.

The SPLOST the Fayette County voters approved is a five-year SPLOST which can raise up to $115 million. The money collected MUST be used on the projects on the list. They cannot take any of the money and use it to fix or build a road that wasn’t listed in the SPLOST. They can’t build a library or park instead, either.

As said, they don’t have to do every project in the list. In fact, there’s no way they COULD do all the projects on the list as $115 won’t cover the costs.

The Commissioners have to prioritize.

The so-called WFB wasn’t a priority until sometime in the last two years. In fact, the number one priority was the East Fayetteville Bypass which, to the best of my knowledge, is now languishing.

The current Board moved the WFB up from somewhere down the list. If they hadn’t moved it up, chances are many of the folks on Lee Road who are so rightfully upset about losing their property or having a road right out their bedroom window would be long gone from Fayette County before it had made it to the top of the list.

When the voters said yes to the transportation SPLOST the WFB was included, but a specific route was not designated. The engineering, environmental studies, surveying to determine the route are all expenses that must wait until the money from the SPLOST is available.

Many SPLOST projects for roads are adjusted, changed in scope or even dropped completely after all the costs, including public input, are analyzed.

Completing Phase 1 of the Bypass, which is the area around the hospital, was the only part scheduled for completion until the current Board got their hooks into things. That phase alone would use up the majority of the dollars allocated in the SPLOST.

Bottom line – if our Commissioners are voting to proceed with the WFB it is because they WANT to build the road, not because they’re being forced to build it.

NOW for a bit of speculation, observation and conjecture. All mine.

I noticed at least two developers and one developer’s representative in the crowd at the Commission meeting Thursday night who didn’t have any requests on the agenda. They stayed through the WFB vote.

I believe the two Commissioners who said none of the people who contributed to their campaign had property along the newly proposed WFB route. If I remember correctly, the other three didn’t pipe up and say anything, not sure if that means they received contributions or just figured they didn’t want to join in. To my way of thinking, having a contribution from a developer along the route would be horrific given the change in SPLOST priorities. Especially since many agree that there are other projects on the list that should be given higher status.

Campaign contributions or not, that doesn’t mean that developers aren’t interested and that they won’t benefit from the WFB. It also doesn’t mean that the Commissioners are or aren’t developer friendly. I don’t know the Commissioners motivation or rationale. Based on what I’ve seen and heard, they’re not doing a very good job of coming up with real good reasons for changing the priorities and pushing so hard on the WFB.

I also wanted to toss out a thought about the possibility of someday seeing an Industrial Park somewhere along this route. Commissioner Jack Smith has tried to get this one going since being put on the Board, and prior to being elected when he sat on the Fayette County Development Authority.

It’s pretty much died on the vine mainly or partially because there aren’t any good truck routes coming into the county aside from the already congested Hwy. 74.

Guess what’s going to change when the WFB is completed? Yup, a very nice route for trucks and commercial traffic to get to a brand spankin’ new County industrial park. I’m going to go back and dig through the recordings I made of the meetings were the proposed locations were discussed to see if anything in that area was mentioned. It won’t mean anything if it wasn’t --- I’ve been told (but haven’t verified for myself) there are some huge parcels of land owned by developers along the route. I’d guess at least one would make a nice industrial park.

After all is said and done, there are still going to be many road projects that need to be addressed in Fayette County. In today’s world, about the only way to afford to fix roads is to have outside-the-county governmental monetary assistance and to have a mechanism for raising money like a SPLOST.

When the money from this SPLOST runs out you’re going to see another pop up for a vote on a ballot. Whether it passes or not is likely to depend in part on how those who’re asking for the dollars have spent the current SPLOST dollars. Here’s another bit of speculation – I’d bet the voters will see some sort of civic or multi-use arts center included in the next SPLOST. That’s going to open up a whole new can of worms.

People have a tendency to wait until something is right on their back doorstep before they get involved or start paying attention. I hope that doesn’t hold true in this county. I hope that people will take the time to watch, complain, encourage and vote. Get involved. Keep up with what’s going on. Don’t wait until a 4-lane bypass is routed through your back yard.

Fayette County Commission Takes a Page from Fed's Playbook

We're all aware that the spending spree in Washington D.C. is going to cost our children and grandchildren. Choices being made by the Feds are obligating future generations for unknown amounts.

The Fayette County Commission will potentially be doing something somewhat similar, albeit on a smaller scale, tomorrow night. At the 7 p.m. Commission meeting on Thursday they are going to make a decision that could hit you and I, along with every future Fayette Countian, in the pocket book.

What could our little county be doing that could have such long term repercussions on taxes?

The Commission will probably pass a defined benefit plan tomorrow night for county employees.

Surprised? I bet you thought they wouldn't do something so costly to the taxpayers during these economic times, didn't you? I bet you thought it was a dead issue, too, didn't you?

Not so. It's on the agenda as old business. In case you've missed the history, the Commission actually approved the implementation of a DB plan in a 4-1 vote toward the end of 2007. Herb Frady, Eric Maxwell, Robert Horgan and Jack Smith voted to implement the plan, Peter Pfeifer voted no. Since the vote, the Commission has simply been fiddling around talking to providers, trying to get the best deal, possibly waiting until they thought they could slide it through quietly.

If you go to the meeting tomorrow night, you're going to hear blarney that'll make you think you're listening to the best o' the best. Fayette County is going to need to find a leprechaun's pot o' gold at the end of a rainbow to cover the tab when the bills start coming due, too.

The Commissioners are going to tell you that it isn't going to cost the taxpayers. Their magnificent plan is different than everyone else's plan.

The plan won't cost you --- now. However, across the country without any exceptions that numerous researchers have been able to find, the tax payer inevitably ends up with a huge bill that is impossible to cover. Sorry, no rainbows, no leprechauns, just a bill that requires either a cut back of services or higher taxes, and sometimes both.

DB plans have been huge contributors to the problems of companies like General Motors, Delta and others.

Another surprise to some? The group the Commission would be hiring to manage (benefit, reap the rewards from) the plan is going to be… GEBcorp. You remember don’t you? They're the ones the Commissioners had give them all the data that justified the implementation of the plan. They “volunteered” their services at no cost just to help out our great county. Wow. Such generosity! Yeah, right. Can you say “deals cut, hee hee hee, rub hands in glee at plans coming to fruition”???

If you go back through my blogs and the articles I’ve written over the past years, you’re going to find that I can now say “I told you so.”

What can you do to stop this? Well, I'd say you could fill the Commission Chambers tomorrow night and voice your opposition, but I have low expectations that you would change anyone's votes.

Herb Frady said he'd vote against it during the election (even though he voted for it, then said he didn't, but tapes proved he did). They don't need his vote. Could be it'll be a 3-2 vote for it depending on who's up for election or who thinks they need to be perceived to be on the side of taxpayers. But it appears it’s going to pass.

I won't go into details about why it's bad. I've gone over and over it in previous blogs. There have been letters written, videos made and plenty in the media.

Maybe it's time for a Fayette County Tea Party.

Previous blogs I've written on the Fayette County Commission's DB plans:
Defined Benefits Gets Temporary Government Bailout, Er, Legislation
Defined benefits are a hot topic in Fayette County, GA. Well, it's a hot topic for those responsible citizens who realize what the future holds for the county should our esteemed local commissioners vote to burden the county with it. For those of you who have been following the ongoing debate, I thought you'd be interested to know the Federal government, yep, the Federal government (that would be Congress) has just unanimously passed The Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act designed to provide temporary relief to retirees and employers sponsoring defined benefit pension plans. President Bush is expected to sign the legislation into law. This Act, among other things, addressed the unanticipated increases in pension funding requirements. Hello, Fayette County! Is anybody seeing the bailout trend? Is anyone listening?

More on Defined Benefits for Fayette County, GA
Last night the committee the County Commission selected to study implementing a Defined Benefits Retirement Plan for county employees asked for more time (Vote on Defined Benefit Plan Vendor Choice Postponed at County Commission Meeting). Since asking for bids in September the group has been reviewing the many, many plans submitted by various companies hoping to get the County's business. It's big business. It's a carrot with a short stick and a lot of companies are vying to be the ones to chomp down on that juicy veggie. (Hey, I'm the queen of bad metaphors... I'm sure before I finish I'll have you rolling your eyes to the heavens.)

Defined Benefits in Fayette County Georgia
The letter below is a letter to the editor received for inclusion in the Fayette Front Page. As many of you know, I think it's a travesty that the Fayette County Commission has chosen to implement a Defined Benefit retirement plan for their employees.Like everyone else who has ever implemented a similar plan, the Commission says it won't cost taxpayers... I have searched and searched trying to find a similar plan that IS working somewhere. All I find are horror tales. And not surprisingly, almost every government that implemented a DB plan said, when trying to sell it, that THEIR plan wouldn't come back to bite the taxpayers at some point. It was different than all the others. Guess who told 'em that? Those guys who are selling the plan of course!

Pension Problems
Across the country businesses are failing. In some cases the straw that broke, or is breaking, the proverbial camel's financial back is their defined benefit pension plan. Do a Google search and see how many references pop up regarding pension plans and company failures.

Tough Times
The Fayette County Commission has frozen somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 jobs this year. I just received a notice from Gwinnett that they've initiated a hiring freeze and expect to save roughly $45 million in a 12 month period. We know Atlanta is having problems, seemingly much of it due to their defined benefit program compounded by the current economic difficulties. The state is in trouble for the first time in quite some time. Not too long ago they had a surplus they were arguing about. Now they're in the hole.

Defined Benefits... Pension Woes...
Across the country governments are having major, major problems with their defined benefit pension plans. They are running from them like they are killer bees swarming. Not so in Fayette County. Our "leaders" voted to implement a plan. Yep, they are building hives to house the bees. The taxpayers are the ones who will someday feel the mighty stings.

If a tree falls in the forest…
The County Commission held a number of meetings where they discussed the switch to a defined benefit (db) retirement program for county employees. Unfortunately for taxpayers, they held every single discussion during their daytime Wednesday “workshop” meetings. No public comment is allowed during those meeting. And, it is impossible for 99.999% of the public to attend. They may as well have been standing in a forest with no one around.

Christmas for some, coal for the taxpayers...
Last night’s County Commission meeting was jam-packed with headline making happenings. Unfortunately (or fortunately….) I was off making money selling my pottery and had to miss the meeting. However, I do have audio from the meeting and have talked to a number of folks who were there, and I asked for and received copies of some of the statements made by concerned citizens.

The Tax Hike Cometh…
Oops, goofed, the tax hike has already cometh… However, if you think the County’s tax increase this year is something, wait until the County Commission votes to implement defined benefits for county employees! The County seems hell bent on doing what every other large business has been forced to dump if they planned to stay in business. Companies across the nation have found it impossible to fund the kind of retirement program the County wants to put in place. They’ve gone into bankruptcy; they’ve run to the government to help, they’ve closed their doors.

Wooten on Defined Benefit Plans, etc. - worth a read
State lawmakers must rid pension plans that bilk taxpayers
By Jim Wooten Monday, August 20, 2007, 09:23 PM
The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionThe system abused by former Fulton County Superior Court Clerk Juanita Hicks and her hand-picked successor is flawed on so many levels that, but for the self-interest of beneficiaries in elected office, it would have been fixed decades ago.

Seven Fayette County Commission Chairman have spoken out... It's time to wake-up!
Seven, yes SEVEN, former Fayette County Commission Chairman have now voiced their opposition to actions of the current Board of Commissioners. That is unprecedented in the history of this county, and perhaps in any county in Georgia or the United States. They have spoken out against the firing of County Attorney Bill McNally. They have spoken out regarding the current Board’s plan to move employees to a defined benefit plan.

More on Defined Benefits for Fayette County, GA

If you're not from Fayette County, GA you probably won't want to read this (unless defined benefits retirement plans are a hot button for you).

Last night the committee the County Commission selected to study implementing a Defined Benefits Retirement Plan for county employees asked for more time (Vote on Defined Benefit Plan Vendor Choice Postponed at County Commission Meeting). Since asking for bids in September the group has been reviewing the many, many plans submitted by various companies hoping to get the County's business.

It's big business. It's a carrot with a short stick and a lot of companies are vying to be the ones to chomp down on that juicy veggie. (Hey, I'm the queen of bad metaphors... I'm sure before I finish I'll have you rolling your eyes to the heavens.)

While writing the "official" article for the Fayette Front Page, I went back and reviewed all the times the DB issue has come before the County Commission. They've been looking at it for over a year now. I've been at most of the meetings where it was discussed, or have a tape recording of the meeting. It's boring stuff to listen to and, if you're not in on the committee meetings, it makes not a whole lot of sense without documentation or background details.

However, I've muddled through.

One thing I had thought, but hadn't really researched, was that all the meetings regarding the DB plan were held during business hours. I was right. While there have been a number of presentations to and discussions by the County Commissioners, the public would have had a hard time being at any of the meetings if they weren't willing to take time off from work.

Not only would it be difficult for any member of the public to keep up with all the happenings in regards to the County's DB plan, it's not easy to find out when they're going to discuss it. It's on the agenda, but how many of you go check to see what's on the upcoming agenda? Especially the daytime Workshop agenda?

A lot of people don't even know that it's already a done deal. The Commission voted 4-1 to implement the plan back in December 2007. Commissioner Peter Pfeifer was the ONLY Commissioner to vote no.

During the election Commissioner Herb Frady started saying he had always been opposed to implementing the plan but he voted FOR it... and he said he was for anything that was good for the employees (or something to that affect, I'd have to go back and listen to the tape of the meeting again to give you the EXACT quote, but that's almost exact if not exact). If you go read my story on the Fayette Front Page and wander though the links at the end you'll see a video of Peter Pfeifer and Herb Frady discussing it during the election, the quote is on there.

All that is happening now is that the Committee appointed by the Commission to look into the Plans is trying to decide which company gets the business. Now there is a slim, slim possibility that the Committee will come back and say no, don't do it, but it is so slim you couldn't catch a minnow on the line.

However, while I say it is a slim, slim possibility, it's still possible. There's a group of citizens who've formed a PAC, Fayette Citizens for Open Government (FayCOG), who are fighting implementing the Plan. They don't feel that there have been enough open meetings and public input. They're asking for hearings and citizen involvement. You can get involved with FayCOG, or you can send your own emails and letters. You can come to the next meeting and voice your concerns.

Why, you might ask, should this involve the citizens of this county? Well, I might answer, it's going to cost the taxpayers a bundle in a few years. Your taxes are going to rise and / or some things aren't going to happen that should just to pay for benefits for employees.

The employees have a great retirement plan already. It's one that isn't going to drain the bank and it's not risky.

We're watching the auto bailout fiasco going on right now. A huge part of their financial woes are related to the dream benefits the employees have at the once-big 3. Everyone is running away from DB retirement plans because they are financially back-breaking. Yet here in our county we're embracing the failed plan and going in the opposite direction.

The bill is going to come due at some point. For the first few years things will run smoothly, then it's going to become a growing bubble that will burst when least expected.

I've been writing about this for over a year. It's bad news for the future of our county and it seems that not many are paying attention. At the very least, the County Commission should hold off with this taxpayer hold-up until after the financial crisis passes.

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Vote on Defined Benefit Plan Vendor Choice Postponed at County Commission Meeting
12/12/08 It appeared that County Commissioners were surprised when the newly appointed Fire and Emergency Director, Allen McCullough made his presentation regarding Defined Benefits. McCullough heads up the committee which is studying which company to select to provide and manage the Defined Benefit plan the County voted to implement last year (Dec. 5th, 2007; approved 4 – 1 with Commissioner Peter Pfeifer voting in opposition)... More

Kudos to Peachtree City for Saying it Straight

Peachtree City is raising taxes. If you live in Peachtree City that can’t make you a happy camper (or more accurately, a happy home owner). You tax bill is going to be higher.

The School Board is also raising taxes. The County Commission raised taxes last year and said earlier they were going to raise them this year.

Whoa, you say, I haven’t heard that. In fact according to some of the campaign literature I received the Commissioners said they haven’t raised taxes in two years. Janet, you have to be mistaken.

Nope. It’s just like former President Clinton’s statement regarding the definition of “is”. There are taxes and then there are taxes.

When Peachtree City says they’re raising taxes, they are doing exactly the same thing the County did last year and the School Board did both years. However, rather than candy-coating it with misunderstood terminology, “millage rate”, they said it straight out with great honesty.

Here’s a real simplified explanation of how millage rates work (don’t hold my feet to the fire if it’s not 100% technically complete, I’ll link you to an article that uses all the correct terms at the end of my editorial):

When your property values increase, which they usually do each year, the governing authority has the ability to off-set that increased value by decreasing or rolling back the millage rate. If they roll it back, those taxes don’t go up. If they leave it without changing anything your taxes go UP due to the increased value of your property. If they RAISE the millage rate, the taxes go up even higher.

Not rolling back the millage rate is called a “back-door tax increase”. Because it’s such a sneaky way to get more tax dollars from you, the state finally started requiring cities and counties to hold three public hearings anytime they weren’t going to roll back the millage rate.

Fayetteville isn’t rolling their back and neither is the School Board. Now Peachtree City is doing the same.

Those living inside the cities will get a double whammy. Their city and the school board didn’t offset the mill rate.

Unfortunately, even though the state requires the three hearings, most people only see something about their governing body having a public meeting regarding the millage rate. I’d venture to guess that 80% of the population doesn’t equate millage rate with tax hike.

In fact, I sat through a County budget meeting last year and Fayette County Commissioner Eric Maxwell said something to the effect that they weren’t going to raise taxes, no way, no sir. However, he said, they wouldn’t be able to roll back the millage rate for the first time in five or six years. I was filming that day, maybe I’ll go back and see if I can dig it up for you.

A tax hike by any name is a tax increase. Whether you say your not rolling back the millage rate or say you’re increasing taxes.

Although I’d prefer that Peachtree City not increase taxes, at least they say it like it is.

If a tree falls in the forest…

The County Commission held a number of meetings where they discussed the switch to a defined benefit (db) retirement program for county employees. Unfortunately for taxpayers, they held every single discussion during their daytime Wednesday “workshop” meetings. No public comment is allowed during those meeting. And, it is impossible for 99.999% of the public to attend. They may as well have been standing in a forest with no one around.

In addition to my formerly expressed concerns regarding the certain tax increases down the road to pay for the db program, I’m very concerned about the process used to arrive at the switch. I mentioned two concerns in my opening paragraph. Here are a few more:

Unbiased Committee?
A committee was appointed by the Commissioners comprised of county employees and one citizen. The lone citizen was an attorney who is friends with and/or has done business with some of the Commissioners and/or Interim County Manager.

Wouldn’t it have been advisable to have a committee that had a few people with expertise in the area being studied? All but one person on the committee stands to benefit when the db plan is implemented. I know all of the folks on the committee, they’re good people overall. I don’t doubt for a minute that most of them went in trying to be objective and they all did their best. But if the commissioners intended to study the issue fairly they could easily have found a few in the community in the insurance and/or financial arena willing to serve on the committee.

Fair Study?
The “retirement study committee” looked at one thing: defined benefit retirement. They didn’t consider any other options. They didn’t study the current system to see if it could be tweaked. If they did look at any of the other options it certainly wasn’t what they were tasked with looking at and they didn’t report on it during the daytime workshop meetings that I attended or taped in absence.

Additionally, unless I missed something, they didn’t invite a variety of experts to advise them on the study. They used so-called experts who could very well end up getting the county’s db program business. Seems kind of like getting a used car salesman to advise you on which car to buy. What are the chances the salesman is going to steer you to a car on another lot? Chances are he’ll point you to the one where he makes the highest commission. Duh.

If you truly want a fair, objective study, you look at all sides. Governments across the country are squirming as they try to find ways to get out of db programs. I wonder if anyone from Henry County (db in the hole), Peachtree City (db in the hole), Atlanta (already moved away from the db program where possible, but in the hole with those that are left)… GM, Delta Air Lines, the list goes on and on and on, stopped by to share their concerns with the study group?

Public Input
I went back and looked at how the defined benefit issue was listed on the agenda. The September 5th daytime meeting lists it as a report from the “Retirement Study Committee.” I doubt that would hit anyone’s radar screen as a topic of critical importance.

On the October 3rd daytime workshop meeting agenda it was listed in this manner, “Steve Vaughn of Government Employee Benefits Corporation of Georgia (GEBCorp) will present the Board with Additional Information regarding the findings of the Retirement Study Group.”

A “Retirement Study Group.” How’s the average citizen to know what that entails by going on-line and looking at agendas? And, even if they do figure it out, are they then expected to take time off from work to come to a meeting? One where they can’t even voice their opinions?

They voted to go forward with the db program in this Wednesday's workshop meeting. How was it listed on the agenda? Try this and see if you thought there would be a vote on the issue: "Further discussion of the retirement study committee decision tree and critical elements for the Board's decision making process with respect to a retirement plan. This items has been addressed at the September 5, 2007 Workshop Meeting, the October 2, 2007 Workshop Meeting and the November 7, 2007 Workshop Meeting."

Anything in that lead you to believe they were going to do anything other than discuss it again?

Lest you waste time scratching your head over that question, here's how it was listed on the Nov. 7th agenda (where it was simply discussed and not voted on): "Presentation of retirement study committee decision tree and critical elements for the Board’s decision making process with respect to a retirement plan. This item has been addressed both at the September 5, 2007 Workshop Meeting and at the October 3, 2007 Workshop Meeting."

An evening meeting with public comment would have gone a long way toward making the process seem open. However, without any of the documentation or access to the findings of the “study committee” there’s not much anyone could say of substance. One former County Commission Chairman went before the Board with questions. He was ignored, then disparaged at this Wednesday’s meeting for not being at previous meetings. You know, the meetings held during business hours where public comment isn’t allowed?

Unbeknownst to the Commissioners, he did have access to some of the material. The Fayette Front Page films and/or audio records meetings and provides it either on-line or will give a copy to anyone requesting it for a nominal fee. He was aware of at least some of the rosy-scenario information provided by the “study committee” and the GEBCorp “consultants”. He asked legitimate questions that taxpayers should have answered since they are, for all practical purposes, being shut out of the process and will be footing the bill.

A lot of things get done in the meetings being held during normal business hours. A lot of critical decisions are made in those daytime meetings --- without the ability for public input and often times without public knowledge until after the fact.

The original intent of a daytime meeting was to allow those who couldn’t make an evening meeting the opportunity to be able to address the Board and to have access to their Commissioners. By mutual consent, past Board’s have avoided making any high priority decisions or discussing controversial issues during the daytime meetings because they WANTED public input. They wanted open government.

Unfortunately, things have changed. The switch was the brainchild of Commissioner Herb Frady. He made it sound good. It’s a workshop, not called a meeting. At the same time they changed the intent of the Wednesday meeting, the commissioners made a few token changes regarding public input during the evening meetings. Then they started making key decisions without listing the item on the agenda. Then they started making decisions during the Wednesday meetings. Then they started setting up handpicked committees which meet behind closed doors, shutting out the press and the public.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears, does it make a sound? Our Commissioners are meeting at times when no one can hear. And yes, they are making a huge sound. Unfortunately, it’s a sound that will reverberate for years to come as we dig into our pockets to pay for the decisions they’re making.

Christmas for some, coal for the taxpayers...

Last night’s County Commission meeting was jam-packed with headline making happenings. Unfortunately (or fortunately….) I was off making money selling my pottery and had to miss the meeting. However, I do have audio from the meeting and have talked to a number of folks who were there, and I asked for and received copies of some of the statements made by concerned citizens.

Three topics caught my attention in particular. Defined benefits, the increased cost of the emergency “bunker” (as it’s been nicknamed) and the Sheriff’s proposed purchase of new guns.

In this blog, I’m going to focus on the defined benefit (db) program and on one of the speakers who addressed the Board last night. It’s Christmas, I don’t want to tax you with a long blog. You’re gonna be taxed enough as it is with all your Christmas shopping, the increase in taxes the current Board dropped on you and the increase in taxes you’ll see once they implement the db program…

Former Senator Rick Price (who’s also a past County Commission Chairman) spoke against the proposed db program at last night’s meeting. He presented a list of ten questions regarding the program. Just as a bit of background on the Senator, he is a financial planner. He knows his stuff. Thus he has the benefit of looking at the idea of the db program from multiple sides. He’s been in the hot seat on the Commission, he’s been in politics at the state level and he has an intimate knowledge of the financial world.

Currently county employees have an award-winning defined contribution retirement program. Some of the Commissioners and the Interim County Manager are pushing hard to switch to a db program. They put together a handpicked committee of employees and an attorney (who doesn’t deal at all with db programs or anything related) to “study” the feasibility of switching to a db program. The committee worked with the group that will get the county’s business if they’re successful in selling the program to enough of the Board to “study” the issue… sure, right, sounds good to me, too.

From what we’ve seen thus far, the program is a shoe in and county employees are going to get a really nice Christmas present. The taxpayers are the ones who’ll be left holding the proverbial stocking full of coal, one we won’t deserve to have foisted on us.

Here are Senator Price’s ten questions. What do you want to bet that we never see a response to them? Or, if we do, they’re answered in rosy gloss-over-the-fact prose by the guys who set the program up for Henry County (huge unfunded liabilities to the tune of millions and millions) who’re now trying to sell the program to the Fayette County commissioners?

Here are his questions:

As a taxpayer of Fayette County, I am requesting the Board to respond to my written questions below as individual Commissioners and/or as a group BEFORE a vote is taken on implementing a Defined Benefit Retirement Plan.

1. Is the board going to vote to implement a benefit plan change of any type before the end of 2007?

2. Will you vote to implement a Defined Benefit Retirement Plan WITHOUT a series of PUBLIC MEETINGS once the board has made a decision to implement a Defined Benefit plan?

3. Can you explain why this Board has not hired an independent pension consultant?
(NOTE: When the Board enhanced the existing Defined Contribution Retirement Plan in 1995, the Board hired an independent consultant to evaluate options for plan design, cost and eventual coordination of the bidding process and finally, the selection of a new Defined Contribution Plan company.)

4. Please explain why this Board has as their stated goal that Fayette County Employees retire with 100% of an employee’s pre-retirement salary. Please name any major private sector employer who has as their stated goal that their employees retire with 100% of their pre-retirement salary.

5. Please explain why this particular board is willing to commit future boards and taxpayers to the unfunded liabilities that are prevalent in most government defined benefit programs. See attached.

6. Is the Board aware that constitutional officers, (Sheriff, Tax Commissioners), firefighters/EMTs and other certain public safety employees have Defined Benefit Plans also have available to participate in, i.e., the Georgia Firefighter’s Pension Fund and the Peace Officers’ Annuity & Benefit Fund of Georgia? These additional pensions are funded by additional surcharges to fines and fees that taxpayers pay. Some are voluntary and some are mandated by the state legislature.

7. In your research, are you aware of Henry County’s Defined Benefit Plan shortfall? Are you aware that Henry County implemented their Defined Benefit Plan 4 years ago and now has a $25 million dollar “unfunded liability” that falls on the Henry County taxpayers? See attachment.

8. Can the Board explain why most major corporations in general, and Delta Airlines in particular, have frozen or cancelled their Defined Benefit Retirement Plans but Fayette County is reversing this trend by planning to add a Defined Benefit Retirement Plan?

9. Is the board aware of the possible negative exposure a county employees spouse or beneficiaries may have by participation in a Defined Benefit Plan versus the current plan?

10. Please review the attachments that show three local governments whose audits show that even though the are funding their annual dollars (at 100%) that actuaries advised, they all have shortfalls that will have to be paid by the taxpayers. Will this board show the true cost of a defined benefit plan?

Respectfully,
Rick Price

More on Bennett?

Well, I don't want to seem like I'm hung up on one subject here, but it seems there may be yet another potential issue brewing that might possibly involve Mr. Bennett in his role as McDonough City Attorney. There’s a second recent video (October 9th, link below) on Fox 5 News pertaining to McDonough, Mayor Pro Tem Brown and legal advice he says he received from the city attorney.

It seems Brown voted to rezone properties for three investors in his restaurant on six occasions in 2004. Brown says he was advised by the City Attorney that it was OK to vote on the rezonings even though one invested $25,000 and gave him a $9,000 loan and the other two each invested $10,000 each. He disclosed his relationship in one of the six votes (but still voted in favor of the rezoning).

Bennett’s name isn’t mentioned. Dale Russell states that Brown told him a city attorney advised him it was OK to vote on rezoning.

Bennett started with McDonough as their City Attorney in 2004.

I haven’t talked to Mr. Bennett, haven’t talked to Brown, but I do have some calls out about the issue. You know I’m gonna be penning another blog soon if I find out definitely that Bennett is the city attorney referred to in the story.

Can you imagine the uproar it would cause here if one of our Commissioners got caught voting for a rezoning for someone who’d invested in their business?

In McDonough, it’s getting pretty hairy due to this issue and the other issue Bennett was involved in regarding banning recording devices at public meetings.

Me thinks Mr. Bennett might have been wise to abandon ship before someone pushed him overboard.

Link to video: http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=F836213A234DF84FABE414E8AA45C9F1?contentId=4589102&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

Falling on his sword...

I’ve heard a little more about Mr. Bennett’s fiasco with the McDonough city council from some folks in the Henry County area (so far none who are happy with him, but typically people who’re upset are the first to call or write…).

They’ve told me there are some so-called supporters who say he “fell on his sword” for his bosses.

These supporters are saying Bennett didn’t give the City Council the advice he admitted to giving them. He just lied to the media to cover for the guys? Fell on his sword, took the fall, took the blame… lied. Not that they use the word “lied” when they’re attempting to stand up for him.

(I’d have to ask my friends to stop trying to help me if the best they could come up with is that I lied…)

Watch the video (posted below) and see the story for yourself. Do a quick search and see what the newspaper reporter. There ain’t no equivocatin’ on what he admitted to doing folks.

Then he’s quoted in the newspaper as saying he made a mistake in giving the advice... not that he made a mistake in taking the fall.

So, what we have is a choice of how to view Bennett. Either he lied to cover for his bosses, or he missed the class 101 on Georgia’s Sunshine laws at Georgia State University.

Neither scenario gives me any warm and fuzzies about our new attorney.

Lying to cover for your bosses? Not a good move as far as I’m concerned. I rather like a bit of moral backbone in people who’ll be representing this county. If our Commissioners do something wrong I’d prefer an attorney who’d kick their behinds and make ‘em do what was right, and if they refused he’d resign rather than cover for them.

I’d also prefer an attorney who had a bit more experience under his belt. And someone who hadn’t sued the County on multiple occasions to toss out our sign ordinances. And someone without any controversy dogging him.

If you’ve read my previous blogs on Mr. Bennett you know the Commission said he was the “best qualified”. Best qualified in what ways?

Define Best Qualified...

As promised, a little (or maybe a lot) about the ones who got away… or were turned away… or didn’t make it… whatever. I’m going to delve a little into the qualifications of the top three contenders for Fayette County’s new in-house attorney.

Wandering around on Google I found tons of information on two of the three top candidates for position. Per Interim County Manager Jack Krakeel a total of 23 applied for the position. Six made it to the top tier and were interviewed by the Commissioners. Three were selected as finalists (sounds like a beauty pageant doesn’t it?). The top three were Scott Bennett (who they ultimately selected), Gary Moore and Gia Compton.

It was a piece of cake to find out info on both Gary Moore and Gia Compton. Couldn’t find a negative word anywhere about either. When Googling Gia’s name I came up with a lot of references to adoption and child advocacy representation. She’s currently the City Attorney for Greenville in Meriwether County and lives in Conyers. I saw a reference to her holding the position as an attorney with the State Department of Health and a listing for her under “Divorce” attorneys. Overall the impression I had after glancing through some blog postings she made and the issues she chose to focus on was of a very nice lady.

I didn’t see much that would have put her into the top three though. However, it’s only a Google search. IF (big if) I found everything of importance out about Compton it really makes me wonder about the other 20 whose names will not be released per the Commission’s ruling. They must have been pretty sorry.

When I googled Gary Moore I found tons of information. Again, not one bad word. He has at least 32 years of experience, including serving as the attorney for Glynn County. His background is in civil rights, constitutional law (bet he wouldn’t make the mistake of banning recorders at public meetings!), developmental law, business and commercial law, property, government law, real estate transactions, workers compensation, etc., etc. He was the attorney for City of Darian and the Darian Downtown Development Authority. The list of companies and accomplishments was long.

You have to wonder how an attorney with only six years experience beat someone like Gary Moore out for the job. I’m not privy to the criteria for the interviews or the qualifications for the job. Could be they offered Moore the job and he didn’t like the salary. Although he had to have some idea of what the salary range was when he applied… Could be some deep dark secret appeared after he cleared the pack of 23 and then the pack of six. Nah, the Sheriff was on the vetting committee, surely a background check was done on the top tier at least. They had a tax guy on the committee, too, so it’s doubtful he had a problem with his taxes…

So, why did they choose Eric Maxwell’s attorney? What is it about a six-year attorney with virtually no positive history to be found when Googled? I checked Lexus-Nexus, the Georgia Bar and FindLaw. He’s pretty much an invisible entity.

So, why did they choose Eric Maxwell’s attorney? There were a total of 23 who applied for the position. Their names are to be forever hidden (unless one of them reads this blog and contacts me ). How come an attorney with minimal experience in the areas that matter when representing the county beats out 22 others who thought they met the criteria?

How did Eric Maxwell’s attorney make it to the top of the heap? When asked, the Commissioners parroted “best-qualified” and had nice things to say about Bennett’s personality. Best qualified? Google “Gary Moore” and look at his qualifications. You can read my previous blog for more on Scott Bennett’s qualifications. Compare the two. Tell me who’s best qualified!

So, how did the Board choose Eric Maxwell’s attorney? Maxwell led the charge to get rid of Bill McNally, the previous attorney. Seems like if the goal was to save costs they’d want to hire someone with at least a token amount of comparable experience. McNally has the reputation as the best County Attorney in the State so it’s not possible to come close to his level of expertise, especially when you toss in the rest of his firm who had a wide assortment of experience.

With the new in-house attorney it’s a given they’ll be hiring more help soon and that they’ll be using outside counsel to help him out. Not sure if you watched the video, but I did catch the fact that Chairman Jack Smith said Bennett was asked to be the new county attorney and to “establish the legal department”. How long do you think a “legal department” will be comprised of just one attorney and a legal secretary?

Maxwell made a big deal out of keeping out of the process of choosing an attorney at the Board Retreat in Callaway Gardens Resort earlier this year. So how’d we end up with his attorney?

A quick look at the new County Attorney... and the Commissioners who hired him

I’ve been out doing some basic research on the county’s new attorney. He’s coming with baggage.

In case you haven’t seen the Fox 5 investigative report or read the story on the Fayette Front Page or read my previous blog… our newly hired Commission attorney told his previous bosses they could stop the public from filming open council meetings (and other meetings). The Council had COPS waiting to stop one group when they showed up with a camera. BIG mistake since the guy with the camera used to work (or does work?) for Fox News…

How does any attorney advise elected officials to keep citizens from exercising their clear right to audio or video record public meetings? There’s no gray area in the law. It flat out says anyone can do it. That’s basic 101 law. According to news stories the Mayor of McDonough (who was out of town during the fiasco) even told them they couldn’t ban cameras, etc.

Our new attorney, Bennett, admitted he was wrong when the you-know-what hit the fan. Of course, you may want to excuse his blooper. I mean, he only received his J.D. Degree from Georgia State University College of Law in May of 2000. He qualified to practice about a year later on April 9, 2001. It’s not like he has a lot of experience with those kinds of things.

Yep, our commissioners chose an attorney who has six years experience to advise them on issues that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars. But not to worry, I’m sure he’s going to be getting a lot of outside help on matters. It’s gonna be interesting to see how much all that outside help is going to ultimately cost. I’m betting the first year it’ll be rather light ‘cause the Commissioners will KNOW we’ll be looking at the numbers. But you just watch. The amount we pay for outside legal experience is going to grow and grow.

OK, I could easily get sidetracked. Let me get back to Mr. Bennett’s experience…

What’s he been doing for six years? For one thing, he’s been suing to get sign ordinances thrown out so companies and individuals could have more signs. Specifically he’s been suing in part to get OUR sign ordinances tossed out. Now maybe YOU want to have signs like they do in Clayton County, Dekalb County and Atlanta (the cities Bennett practiced in prior to hiring on with the City of McDonough)… but I don’t think the vast majority of the people living in this county want more billboards and rows of cluttered signs up and down the roadways.

Yes, I understand that if our current County Commission doesn’t want more signs then the new attorney won’t get to dabble in that area. However (yeah, there’s always a however or two or three in my blogs), we already know one commissioner on the board has sued the county wanting unlimited signs on his own property (and since you can’t do for one what you do for all usually, that means everyone would have been able to stop mowing their grass and put in a carpet of signs). Did I mention that the commissioner (Eric Maxwell) who sued used Scott Bennett as his attorney when he sued? Hmmm… I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, the dots are too easy to connect.

Experience. Or lack thereof. We know Mr. Bennett can dispense bad advice and he likes to sue for signs. What else has our new attorney been doing for the past six years?

Since 2004 he’s worked for the City of McDonough in Henry County. There’s some crossover experience there. He’s been providing legal advice (stop filming our meetings!!!), preparing ordinances and contracts, reviewing zonings and other things that give him some experience (3 years) in areas the County Commission will deal with.

He’s also been working for a city that is currently exploding in growth. There has been a lot of bitter fighting going on between those who want to manage growth and those who don’t in McDonough. The Mayor Pro-Tem Brown was in the news recently for voting on rezonings for folks who invested in his restaurant. One who invested $25,000 also gave Brown an additional $9,000 loan. He says he was advised by the City Attorney that it was OK to vote for his buddy’s rezonings (for higher, much higher, density by the way) SIX times in 2004. I’m not sure if it was OUR new attorney (who started in 2004) who did the advising or if it was the previous city attorney yet. I have some calls and emails out and will get back to you on that one…

Prior to working with pro-growth McDonough, he worked for Webb & Porter (Atlanta), area of practice First Amendment Litigation for a little less than a year (i.e., suing for signs).

He worked for the DeKalb County Law Department representing the Development Department, Planning Department, reviewed contracts, defended general litigation, etc. for about two years. Although he was just one of the group of attorneys working with DeKalb he probably did learn quite a bit as DeKalb is another county that is bulging at its boundaries and overrun with signs…

Before working in DeKalb he drafted complaints and similar, defended depositions, prepared ordinances, prosecuted municipal court dockets, etc., etc. for Fincher & Hecht in Morrow (Clayton County). I haven’t looked it up, but I’m 99% sure that the Hecht in Fincher & Hecht is Greg Hecht who ran for a couple of Democratic offices in recent years. He worked with them from May 2000 to November 2001. He didn’t pass the Bar until April of 2001 so I’d imagine he was just learning the ropes and wasn’t able to represent anyone in court until he passed the Bar. But then again, maybe law works like medical field… Doctors have Physician’s Assistants who do everything they do pretty much, the doctor just signs off on everything.

I know that throughout this blog I’ve implied that Bennett may be a pro-growth, sign-loving attorney. I don’t know that he is. Could be he’s just a hired gun who does what he’s directed to do like many attorneys. I can only make judgements at this point based on the fact that he’s made the choices to be where he’s been. He chose to litigate for tossing out sign ordinances. He chose higher density counties. He chose the field he’s in. He gave at least one major piece of very bad advice that any first year attorney would know was wrong.

I’m more concerned about our County Commission’s abilities and choices than I am Scott Bennett’s at this juncture. Eric Maxwell said he was removing himself from the process because of the political nature of the situation when the Commissioners started the process. However, when it’s all said and done the Commission walked lock-step and chose Maxwell’s attorney. Maxwell didn’t disclose his relationship with Bennett. And he voted to hire him on Friday. Worst case scenario he should have recused himself after disclosing his association with the guy. The County Commission chose a guy who fights to break the back of tough sign ordinances. They chose a guy with only six years experience.

My next blog is going to be about the other two “top-three” candidates the County Commission interviewed and rejected. The Commissioners talked to a total of six and from those six they selected the top three. The top six were vetted by a committee who looked at a pool of twenty-some-odd candidates. How’d Eric Maxwell’s sign-suing six-years experienced attorney get to the top of that heap? How’d he beat out a guy with 32 years experience? Hmmm…

County Hires First In-House Attorney

I'll post the story about the new attorney from the Fayette Front Page shortly (if you're in a hurry, the story is on the front page of the Front Page)... I'm also writing a longer blog about the new attorney. Kind of crazy right now as I'm working a booth at the Peachtree City Running Club Classic (15K race) and have to be there at yawn:30 in the morning (no later than 6:30... yuk!!!). Anyway, found this on Fox 5 News and had to share it now. It's also on the Fayette Front Page.

Gotta ask the question, too --- they just hired a guy with six, yes only SIX, years experience. He was (is?) Commissioner Eric Maxwell's attorney. He's sued the county to try and get rid of our sign ordinance. There were three in the top tier. One of the guys has worked as a county attorney. He has 32 years experience in every single category the county needed. Why did they choose a guy with lesser experience and with a controversial issue hanging over his head (see the video)? There's another issue out there that's attached to him also, we're working now to get the scoop on it and see if the info we received is accurate.

Anyway, I need to get a few hours sleep, lots of news to cover tomorrow. Here's the link I promised when I started writing this: NEW! Watch Fox 5 Video re: Citizen Muckraker and Scott Bennett (If link doesn't work, go to www.myfoxatlanta.com and do a search on "citizen muckraker" or "mcdonough")

When is a Noise MORE than a Noise?

The Fayette County Commission is considering changing the current noise ordinance. I suppose I should say Commissioners Herb Frady and Eric Maxwell are pushing to change the noise ordinance.

At a previous Commission meeting Maxwell, at the behest of Frady per Maxwell's comments, wanted the Commission to pursue looking over the current noise ordinance and making some changes to accommodate the individual who possibly caused the re-writing of the ordinance a few years back. Robert Horgan was clearly in the pair’s court at that initial meeting and Jack Smith went along. Peter Pfeifer was opposed. Chief Marshall Collins ended up with the task of looking over the ordinance and making recommendations.

During this Thursday’s meeting (9/27/07) Collins presented his suggestions. He cited a lot of sources and had clearly gone to great lengths to cover all bases. After it was all said and done, he suggested some minor changes including testing the decibel levels from the place homeowners gathered rather than at the edge of their property, changing the need for special exception permits to have to be voted on by the Board and adding an appeal process if permits were denied.

It was clear based on Maxwell’s comments that Collins didn’t get to where he and Frady wanted him to get (video to be posted on YouTube over the weekend). They want a free-for-all window a couple of hours a day on a couple of days a week where dirt bikers and motorcycle riders and any other noisemaker in the county can make higher than currently legal noises.

They haven’t said whether they’ll put a cap on the noise levels during those two-hour freebie windows, but one can only hope that there will be some decibel maximum set for that time frame if they move ahead. The time frame suggested by Maxwell was from 4 – 6 p.m.

When Maxwell spoke, he sounded very reasonable. Why wouldn’t you want that Dad with two young children to be able to ride their dirt bikes at least two days a week?

Hmmm…. Let me get a couple of notepads and see how fast the neighbors who’ll have to put up with the sound can fill ‘em up.

Something the Commissioners seem to forget in all their discussions is that the current noise ordinance doesn’t stop anyone from riding their dirt bikes or motorcycles. It just requires that they keep the noise at a reasonable level. Mufflers work fine. Riding bikes in the middle of 30 acres instead of on the edge of the property works fine. Having only one bike or maybe two instead of 5, 6 or 10 might help, too. I’ll reiterate… the ordinance doesn’t prevent anyone from riding their bikes or making other noises. It just requires them to be considerate of all those around them.

How do you discriminate against every other noisemaker during those two hours? Does that mean that during those two hours every kid with a boom box in the county can turn ‘em up to the max and blast us all away? Can I get my band together on the front porch and entertain my neighbors (whether they like my kind of music or not)? What if I’m a monster truck driver and I want to drive over old cars and crush them on my 40-acre property during those two hours? Can I take the muffler off my drag racers and do wheelies in the back yard for two hours?

Here’s another consideration: How do you pick the right time to allow excessive noise level? As said, Maxwell tossed out 4 – 6 p.m. That is homework time for a lot of kids. Some of the folks who spoke against changing the noise ordinance noted they had 60 plus decibel levels in their children’s bedrooms with windows closed due to the bikes. Don’t know about you, but I know I don’t concentrate very well when there’s a lot of noise.

My granddaughter takes a long nap around 3:30 p.m. every day. I can just imagine what would happen if the bikers (or any sustained loud noise) started blasting during her naptime. What about those who eat dinner at 5 p.m. or even 5:30 p.m.? What if you work the night shift and that’s your sleep time? What if you have an autistic child who doesn’t react well to noise? Should you have to move because someone moves into your quiet neighborhood and they want to blow their trumpet in the front yard for two hours? What if they have all their friends over next-door each week and hold a target practice? There is never going to be a good time to annoy all of your neighbors.

What appears to be happening is that the good of the majority is in the process of being pushed aside for the wants of one. There is one landowner who seems to be pushing the Commissioners to change the ordinance. At least he is the only one the Commissioners Maxwell and Horgan mentioned at the initial meeting and he’s the only one who was mentioned in the subsequent meetings. The family in question moved into a quiet neighborhood, built a dirt track, started riding all hours of the day and night causing the 15-plus neighboring households a lot of noisy grief. He has a son who’s aspiring to go pro with his motorcycle riding.

A few years back when the current noise ordinance was put in place, Commissioners visited some of the neighboring properties and heard the bikes. They spent a lot of time researching noise ordinances and other documentation. They put in a noise ordinance that has satisfied the vast majority of citizens in the county and complies with legal standards. According to Chief Marshall Collins, it has made the job of our judges that much easier because they have defined parameters.

How do you enforce a two-hour window? What happens if they ride an extra fifteen minutes? Do you take their two hours away from them as punishment? If you give someone two days a week to ride (or make as much noise as they’d like doing whatever they want), won’t they say that’s not fair, they should have three days, four days, seven? Why only two hours? That’s barely enough time to warm up the old bike. If I’m out of town on Tuesday can I have Thursday instead?

I’m going out to do my own research. So far I haven’t found a noise ordinance that allows a “make-as-much-noise-as-you’d-like” time exception. Generally most places are working hard to tighten their noise ordinance. They want a better quality of life and they’re not looking for ways to decrease quality of life. One of the speakers opposing weakening the noise ordinance said they thought Fayette County tried to be better than other places. Why in the world would anyone, especially some of our Commissioners, want to bring the county down? Why do they want to open a door that the majority is happy to keep closed?

Keep in mind readers, this isn’t about dirt bikes and motorcycles. This is about NOISE. When the current Board makes the changes, and chances are they will based on past performance, across the county noisemakers are going to be rejoicing and noise levels are going to go up for various periods of time. You won’t be able to do anything about intrusive noises during that period of time.

To answer my initial question, a noise is more than a noise when it infringes on your quality of life.

Contrasts

Back when Harold Bost, Greg Dunn, Glen Gosa, Linda Wells and Herb Frady comprised the County Commission, they goofed. One night in an executive session they were discussing a legally permissible issue and the conversation drifted into policy. They were behind closed doors. The county’s attorney, Bill McNally was not with them that night.

Someone realized they had strayed into questionable legal territory as defined under the Georgia Open Meetings Act and mentioned it. They stopped talking and got back onto the straight and narrow.

Now chances are, no one would have ever known they tiptoed accidentally over the line. If attorney Bill McNally had been there, it wouldn’t have happened.

What’d these guys do? The next day Commissioner Greg Dunn called each one of them and discussed the matter with them saying he felt they needed to be open about it. Once he had a consensus he drafted a press release and went to the press and the group turned themselves in. The group also agreed they would never meet in executive session again without an attorney present just to make sure they’d never stray, even accidentally.

Who’d have ever known if they hadn’t said anything? The easy thing to do would have been to keep mum. Now, to this day, some continue to accuse them of wrongdoing. Not something they deny, nor can they ‘cause they pointed the finger at themselves.

In my mind, that is admirable. I know there are some who would say why bother, why throw yourselves to the wolves? I think it says something about character and integrity.

Now contrast that with what our current Board of Commissioners did and has attempted to do in a vaguely similar situation (well, they both involve executive sessions…).

First, they ditch the current attorney and go attorney-less. They continue to meet, but do so without any legal counsel. That means they can’t talk about legal matters behind closed doors --- per Georgia state law.

One night they find they need to talk about a legal matter. Commissioner Pfeifer questions the feasibility of doing so, asking if they can without an attorney. The correct response would be something along the lines of “no, we can’t, let’s hire an interim attorney ASAP so we don’t break the law.”

But no, Commissioner Maxwell, who said he wanted to discuss the legal matter, scoffs. He ridicules the idea that they shouldn’t discuss the legal matter.

The entire group is sitting around the boardroom table and hears the exchange. They all make the decision to go ahead and talk about what they THINK is a legal matter (whether it really was or not) behind closed doors, knowing they are breaking, or potentially breaking, the law.

It says a lot about a person’s integrity and character when faced with an issue like this one. There are choices that have to be made. This Board made the wrong choice to my way of thinking, no matter how they rationalized it then or later.

After the meeting, they’re all still thinking they’ve discussed a legal matter and Commission Chairman Smith signs a legal affidavit (which he does after every executive meeting) certifying they talked about a legal matter.

Skip forward. Commissioner Pfeifer asks for an opinion ‘cause he’s still not sure whether what they did was right. The Georgia Attorney General says yes, they broke the law, but he’s not going to do anything about it. Yeah, he has bigger fish to fry and probably doesn’t want to get wrapped up into what could become a real political hot potato.

Pfeifer shares the information with the rest of the Board.

Now, chances are you and I would own up and say “oops, I wasn’t sure and I made the wrong choice, please forgive me” if we let it get that far. (Yeah, I know, you’d probably remember what happened to the past Board who turned themselves in and still have some heckling them about it… But most of us would come clean anyway, or at least I’d like to think the rest of you would!).

Does this group of Commissioners do that? Nope. Maxwell spins an elaborate tale that has him in a different room, pushing away from a microphone that doesn’t exist, going down a ramp that isn’t there and making statements he clearly didn’t make (video doesn’t lie as a friend of mine said). He and the rest of the Board change history, re-doing legal affidavits (can they legally do that???) and meeting minutes to try and make their breaking of the law vanish…

Let me guess what’s going to come next… there will be some statement that says they got the dates mixed up, or maybe a more elaborate spinning of facts of some sort. Maybe they’ll try to say they were thinking about a DIFFERENT meeting… except that’s the only meeting I’ve been able to find where a Commissioner called them on the fact they were trying to go into Executive Session to discuss a legal matter without an attorney. And, even if the same thing did happen twice, that only makes it twice as bad. That spin won’t make the August 1st meeting go away…

Here’s another one that works for a lot of politicians when they’re trying to get out of deep doo-doo… they attack the messenger, attack the ones who have a problem with the fact they didn’t own up and/or the ones who have a problem with the fact they broke the law. They’ll say it’s political or some other nonsense. Watch them, they’ll probably really go after Commissioner Pfeifer for questioning the issue and for wanting to do the right thing in the first place. Or they’ll come after yours truly (after all, if I weren’t there video taping the meetings then there wouldn’t be a record of things…).

Quite truthfully, if the day after the meeting they had admitted they goofed I’d have given ‘em a pass and I think most people would have done the same. Even if, when confronted with a ruling by the Attorney General that said they broke the law they’d admitted they goofed and asked forgiveness, I wouldn’t necessarily have liked it, but I’d probably have given them a pass.

But they didn’t. They tried to cover up what they’d done. They colluded to try and cover their backsides. People of character and integrity work well in the light. Some of these guys are operating with the lights dimmed and sometimes completely darkened.

Contrast the actions of the current Board with the past Board in some remotely similar circumstances. Night and day. Darkness and light.

Legal? Personnel? Open Meetings Act? What's the big deal?

I've had a number of conversations with different people about the County Commissioner's violation of the Georgia Open Meetings Act (OMA) since posting the video (see the blog I posted the other day if you scroll down).

So far, all who've talked or emailed me have indicated that it's pretty clear when they watch the video that Commissioner Maxwell, and other members of the Board, were in cover-up mode, so they figure it must be pretty serious stuff if they're willing to go that far... And, they can see that nothing that's said on September 5th matches what actually happened on August 1st. Some have even caught the fact that the Commissioners signed off on talking about a legal matter AFTER they met so it doesn't really matter whether Maxwell's version of history somehow happened despite the video showing it didn't.

However, when it comes to understanding what's so bad about violating the OMA, they're not so clear on why it's such a big deal (aside from the fact that it's the law). A friend of mine (a very astute and much-better-spoken person than yours truly) sent the link for the video to some folks along with an explanation. I thought it was SO good that I asked if I could use it... So, here it is:

"The link to the YouTube video below poses a very important question about the conduct of Fayette County's business. For those who are unfamiliar with the Georgia Open Meetings Act, it requires that our commissioners vote on things in meetings that are open to the public, on the record, and any votes must be based upon a published agenda made available to the public ten days in advance of the meeting. The intent of the Act is to make sure laws aren't changed in the dead of night and to prevent secret backroom deals about which the public doesn't get information or an opportunity to voice their opinion.

There are only 3 exceptions to the Open Meetings requirements: 1) real estate matters (this allows the commissioners to discuss potential real estate purchases in private to keep speculators who might hear about the property from buying it and charging the taxpayers ten times the price); 2) personnel matters (hiring, firing, salary negotiations, workers comp claims, disability claims, etc.); and 3) legal matters (just as people get attorney-client privilege, the county commissioners get to keep their legal advice and strategy private). If there is a need to discuss something that fits within those 3 exceptions, the Commissioners may go into a closed-door (executive) session, away from public scrutiny and discuss the matter. After the executive session, they must vote to execute the affidavit (a sworn legal document) that the discussion was only about something in the 3 exceptions and they must publicly report on what action they decided to take.

The reason the alleged "legal matter" Commissioner Maxwell proposed to discuss is a problem, is that the County had no county attorney at the time of that discussion. So, an affidavit to discuss a legal matter is troublesome; they couldn't have been discussing legal strategy or getting attorney-client privileged advice because there was no county attorney to give that privileged advice or strategy.

Now, no doubt, there will be some people who say this is a mere technicality and that the video maker is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. I can only reply that video doesn't lie. "

Is that clearer than what I've written thus far? Yep, I definitely think so! Just in case the blog has dropped off for some reason, here's a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8JrYS0Hkpw

Revisionist History…

On September 5th Commissioner Eric Maxwell attempted to change history. He asked that the Commission change the minutes of a previous meeting (August 1st, 2007) and that they change the affidavit regarding what they discussed during Executive Session.

To understand why this is important in the big scheme of things you need to know a bit about what Commissioners (and any other group of elected officials) are allowed to discuss legally behind closed doors (called Executive Session by the Fayette County Board), and what the restrictions are if they’re going to do so.

They can discuss personnel issues, real estate matters and legal items. That’s it. If they’re going to discuss a legal matter, they MUST have an attorney present.

The record (minutes) of the August 1st meeting reflected that Commissioner Maxwell asked that the Board discuss a LEGAL item in Executive Session. They did not have an attorney at that time.

If the records remained the same, and someone questioned them, then he and the Board could be in trouble.

As it turns out, at the August 1st meeting, Commissioner Pfeifer questioned whether they could go into Executive Session without an attorney. Maxwell said yes, the Board voted to do so, and they went… AFTER the meeting, an affidavit is signed by the Chairman (Jack Smith), which certifies what they talked about. Smith signed the affidavit which confirms they discussed a legal matter.

Now, fast forward a tiny bit.

Commissioner Pfeifer wasn’t comfortable with the situation. He decided to ask the State Attorney General (AG) whether it was or was not legal. There’s really no other entity to ask, as their office is the one responsible for enforcing the laws covering this issue.

Pfeifer got a letter back saying nope, that wasn’t legal, you guys broke the law, but we’re not going to do anything. Generally they have bigger fish to fry and they don’t like to get involved in local politics. Pfeifer provided a copy of the letters to and from the AG to the Board so they’d know they’d stepped over the legal line.

So, what’s a Board to do once they’re confronted with confirmation that they broke the law? They can “come clean”, say oops we goofed, own up and ask for forgiveness… or they could try to cover it up…

Maxwell opted for the second scenario and attempted to revise history.

On September 5th Maxwell recounted a fictitious scenario of the events that occurred on August 1st. He talks about pushing back from the microphone, moving away from the “bench” and being halfway down the ramp. He says he made comments while too far away saying it could be a legal item OR a personnel item and he asked the Board to change the records to reflect it was a personnel item rather than legal.

Some may not know that Maxwell is in a wheelchair. When he talks about being partway down the ramp, he’s referring to the ramp in the main Commission chambers where most meetings are held. Workshop meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month in the smaller boardroom around a table, not in the main chambers. There is not a ramp. Both the August 1st and September 5th meetings were Workshop meetings held in the boardroom.

When Maxwell refers to pushing away from the microphone and leaving the bench, he is also referring to the main Commission chambers where each Commissioner sits in front of their own microphone on dais (or bench).

He could not have made additional comments while moving away from the “bench” as he was sitting around a small table. The video of the August 1st meeting clearly shows that he was sitting next to Commissioner Pfeifer, he moved closer to the table after the meeting adjourned for Executive Session (not away) and he did not make any further comments.

False accounts aside, there’s another real clear problem with Maxwell’s version of revisionist history. Commission Chairman Jack Smith signed the affidavit AFTER the Executive Session stating they had discussed a LEGAL item. Irregardless of whether Maxwell’s twisting tale had happened, the entire group went into the meeting believing it was a LEGAL item they were going to discuss. They all heard Pfeifer’s question and Maxwell’s caustic response. Then, AFTER the meeting, the Chairman signed off on it being a legal matter they discussed.

Watch the video. Watch the body language. Listen with all of the above in mind. Watch the side-ways stares as Maxwell recounts his tale. Watch the fidgeting hands. While Maxwell may have been the point man on this one, I’d venture to say there was a little scrambling behind the scenes on how to handle the potentially hot breaking of state law. Did they really think they could revise history and that we wouldn’t be able to see the glaring discrepancies? They KNOW that the Fayette Front Page films all meetings. Were they hoping we wouldn’t get curious and take a look? Did they WANT to get caught or did they just assume they could get away with revisionist history?

Watch the video for yourself. Make your own decisions.

Sneaky-Pete’s

I heard the term “sneaky-Pete” for the first time recently while talking to a former County Chairman circa early 1990’s. He was referring to the current Commission’s practice of voting on issues without any public notice. He said the commission was “pulling a sneaky-Pete.” What a great phrase!

Your County Commission is pulling one sneaky-Pete after another. Unfortunately, aside from 2 or 3 faithful citizens, a couple of reporters and the county staff who’re required to be at the meetings, tain’t nobody at the meetings to see what’s going on. Also unfortunately, it seems not very many people pay attention to the local newspapers when they report on the votes. However, even if the articles are being read, the newspapers only give passing notice (if any at all) to the fact that the issue wasn’t on the agenda.

I’m not going to rehash all the votes that appear to have been decided in private before the meeting, then brought up in a seemingly orchestrated manner during “Board Reports” at the end of the meetings. (I’ll add one of my old opinion columns from the beginning of the year titled “Forget the Agenda” later for anyone who wants a tiny bit of background.)

Today’s blog is focusing on one thing that a certain few on the Commission tried to sneak through that seems to be getting ready to blow up in their proverbial face (another idiom… I’m just full of ‘em today!).

The issue of the day is redistricting.

At the Commission’s recent retreat (the rather expensive retreat held so far away during working hours making it virtually impossible for any citizen attendance) Commissioner Herb Frady presented everyone with his version of a map moving voting lines in the county around. Let me back up just a tiny bit and say that at the beginning of the day’s meeting the facilitator made it clear to all that this was not an official meeting.

The Commissioner’s discussed it. It was fairly obvious who’d been in the loop on Frady’s travels and who was left out. It was presented pretty much as a done deal, just needed everyone’s rubber stamp support and it was off to the Legislature and the Department of Justice.

Commissioner Peter Pfeifer suggested they might want to look at other ways to re-draw the map drawing the ire and sarcasm of a few of the Commissioners. Chairman Jack Smith tepidly tried to smooth things over as he often does, but as always these days, he sided with the crew. No vote, not that kind of meeting. But four of them agreed to pursue it as drawn by Frady with one minor modification done by the state.

Remember, no public, no public input requested.

Moving forward, we’re at the next official Thursday night Commission meeting. The redistricting map isn’t on the agenda. No word of it until… ta da… Board Reports. It’s brought up for a vote. Yep, a vote. No public input. No public notification at all. Commissioner Pfeifer calls attention to the fact and forces the crew to put it on an agenda for public discussion and involvement.

Soooo, how does the group handle this monkey wrench that Pfeifer tossed into their smoothly running operation? They put it on the agenda for a special called meeting on a Monday morning during the regular working day for the vast majority of Fayette citizens. No separate notice to anyone that they’re going to discuss an issue of this magnitude.

The agenda for the business day special called meeting is published three business days before the actual meeting. No way it’s getting in any newspapers.

A few years back the County Commission considered redistricting. There were public meetings across the county asking for citizen input. There was also a lot of controversy, which I’ll save for another blog ‘cause it’s not germane to the focus of this column.

This one is in the process of becoming public despite the best efforts of the Board. Commissioner Pfeifer is speaking out and taking heat as his words are ignored and / or attacked by his fellow board members. What is really going to bring this issue to the forefront of voters across the county is the move by a rather large group of citizens who are organizing to push for district voting.

My biggest beef (another colloquialism) with the redistricting map is the secrecy involved in pushing it through.

I don’t understand the rush, either. When redistricting, the numbers used by law, are those from the last census. They are using numbers from the 2000 census for Frady's map.

The 2010 census is already in preparation. We’re less than 3 years from getting new numbers. Chances are that the new numbers will throw the current Frady proposal out of kilter completely and we’ll be looking at yet another redistricting. According to official census estimates the county population increased by close to 17% from 2000 to 2006. Where did these 15,000 plus folks move? To the north end of the county? Peachtree City? Brooks? Is the current map already obsolete?

Isn’t it logical to get on a cycle of reviewing districting maps in conjunction with new census data every ten years?

Here’s another thought… We’re coming up on a difficult Presidential election cycle. There’s an early Presidential primary being held separately from our normal primary, which means the election office is already going to have extra things on their plates (just full of those oft-used phrases today, aren’t I?). Why add to their burden now? Why not wait a year, two years?

Which begs another question, why wasn’t the county election’s office involved in drawing the map? Why wasn’t the election board involved in the process? I was told they were asked what the number and contact information was for the state reapportionment office… that’s it. Not, “can I get your input on re-drawing a map?”

This is Commissioner Herb Frady’s project and whatever may come, it’s on his doorstep.

Jack Smith, Chairman
40 Argyll Drive Peachtree City, GA 30269
Home Phone: 770.487.4644
Office: 770.460.5730
Ext. 5101E-Mail: JackSmith@fayettecountyga.gov

Herb Frady, Vice Chairman
100 Old Magnolia Lane Fayetteville, GA 30214
Home Phone: 770.487.9203
Office: 770.460.5730 Ext. 5101
E-Mail: mailto:herbf@admin.co.fayette.ga.us

Robert Horgan
210 Wesley Forest Drive Fayetteville, GA 30214
Home Phone: 770.461.0250
Office: 770.460.5730 Ext. 5101
E-Mail: rhorgan@fayettecountyga.gov

Eric Maxwell
225 South Glynn Street Fayetteville, GA 30214
Office: 770.460.5730 Ext. 5101
E-mail: EMaxwell@fayettecountyga.gov

Peter Pfeifer
220 Copperplate Lane Peachtree City, GA 30269
Home Phone: 770.487.2654
Office: 770.460.5730 Ext. 5101
E-Mail: ppfeifer@fayettecountyga.gov

County Commission Mailing Address:
140 Stonewall Avenue West
Suite 100
Fayetteville, Georgia 30214
Phone: 770.460.5730 extension 5400
Fax: 770.460.9412
e-mail: cchandler@fayettecountyga.gov

Georgia Reapportionment Services Office
18 Capitol Square, Room 407
Atlanta GA 30334
phone: 404-656-5063
FAX: 404-463-4103

I’ll add the info for your local legislators and the Department of Justice later.

(Side note: I didn’t point out all the descriptive phrases I used above that have, through time, become part of our everyday language. I once read a book on the history of English (a companion to a PBS series. The background of our ever-changing language is fascinating! And yes, I know I regularly drop a fair amount of well-worn phrases into my writing.)

County Redistricting 101

We’ve learned that one of our county Commissioners is following the steps in the little known top-secret manual, “Simple Ways to Take Care of Political Opponents” as he stealthily works to eliminate potential political opponents for he and his buds on the Board… Shhhh, don’t tell anyone that we found a copy of the manual… Here are a few pointers from the first chapter, “Redistricting 101”:

First, find out where all your potential opponents live.

Second, draw a map putting all of your potential opponents in someone else’s district.
Note: If you’d like to curry favors and goodwill from your political allies, try to take care of their potential opponents, too! Remember, you need to keep your allies happy! It’s in YOUR best interest also as you definitely don’t want to have any of your potential opponents win any seat… your goal is to attempt to shut them down completely! To do it right, be sure to put your potential opponents in the district of someone you don’t like and /or put them in the district of someone none of them would want to run against.

Third, try to find a way to make it look like it’s something you’re doing for the “good of the people.” If you can’t figure out a way to do that, then make it look like you’re being pushed by outside forces to do the redistricting. You already have a devious nature or you wouldn’t be reading this manual, thus it’s not necessary for us to provide numerous ideas for cloaking your true intentions.

Fourth, if at all possible, do a sneaky-pete and try to slip it through without a public hearing. If caught, pull a “huh-duh, didn’t know that we had to”. Then, instead of doing the public hearing at a time when the public can actually have some input, stick it in a meeting during a weekday when everyone is working.

Unfortunately, he must have stopped reading before he read the last chapter, “Avoiding Pitfalls”. There are too many pitfalls in the chapter to begin to cover in this short blog, but we’ll touch on two that pertain directly to the issue at hand.

Before you can redistrict those potential opponents out of your life, you have to be absolutely sure they aren’t planning to move any time in the near future. No one, but no one, will believe you if you try to change the map a second time.

Second, the manual states over and over, chapter after chapter (but it’s emphasized in Avoiding Pitfalls) that you cannot ever, ever tell anyone what you’re doing. Anyone. You’d be surprised at how people like to share secrets, even when you’re just doing something to try and help them out.