The State of Union--By Allan Baucom

The Enquirer Journal has printed a wonderful guest column from Allan Baucom. While United for Union doesn't always agree with Mr. Baucom we certainly agree with his column. Enjoy

--United for Union

The State Of Union

By: Allan Baucom


One year ago, on December 1, 2008, Kim Rogers and Tracy Kuehler were sworn in as Union County Commissioners. On the same night, I nominated Lanny Openshaw, and he was elected, as chairman, and Kim Rogers Vice Chairman, of the Union County Board of Commissioners.

Each member of this new board majority spoke of working for the benefit of all the citizens of Union County. They spoke of the abolition of any thoughts of an east/west divide. They spoke of absolute transparency in county government. They spoke of working to develop policies to move the county forward with long range planning, to develop a long range plan to procure a resource that we do not have naturally…water. They spoke of working to improve the business/residential tax base.

Here are the realities of what has occurred during the past twelve months.

Water. When Lancaster County offered to work with us to manage water shortages by allowing Union County to purchase additional water, they (the board majority) said no, we do not want your help.

Volunteer Fire Departments. This Board quite effectively told our volunteer firemen and women that we do not like what they are doing for Union County. In fact, one of the commissioners stated emphatically that she did not care what the volunteers thought.

Property Rights. Forget it. If this board majority proceeds on its’ present path, in effect there will be ETJ for the entire unaffiliated areas of Union County. I have heard some of the commissioners state their commitment to property rights. However, the language that was developed by some individuals of the Planning Board and now has been sent by this Board of Commissioners to this Planning Board for their input, clearly defines that property use will be determined by a few people on the Planning Board. This is the “fox guarding the hen house” approach. My fear is this will result in the virtual abolition of property rights for the citizens of Union County.

Monroe. This board majority refused to work with Monroe on property that Union County owns. This land is in a flood plain so it has virtually no values outside of what it is already, part of Lake Tonawanda Park, which is used by all citizens of the county. First, this board majority tried to extort money from Monroe for this property in secret negotiation and when that did not work, tried to rationalize their actions as “good business decisions”. Well, this business decision has now taken part of the park away. It now costs Union County taxpayers $8,000 a year to mow the property and now has led to a decrease in parking lots for county employees. It’s a lose-lose for everyone and now has caused a distrust from each board majority which was totally unnecessary.

Hospital. Ah, yes, the county’s most valuable asset. I have heard the rhetoric that the purpose and intended use of the funds from the proposed sale of “our” hospital is to pay down current county debt. This is not the truth. At first blush, I see how this could sound feasible to people that either have not been in Union County very long, or who have no need or intent on using our hospital facility, because they plan on going to Mecklenburg County facilities. The reality is that only a very small portion of current county debt can be paid early without serious penalties and would have negative impact with our bond rating agencies. I hope these statements have been made from ignorance rather than the intentional misstatement of the facts. County staff has been instructed to contract with a firm to facilitate the sale of the hospital. This firm will be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their work. Where the money to pay this firm is going to come from has not been identified. I have heard that individuals are saying the money from the sale of the hospital will go towards building more parks and libraries.


Transparency. This majority has refused to tape special meetings and workshops where the hospital was the purpose of the meeting, to televise to the public the same as regular commissioner meetings are televised. It has become the norm for motions to be made and action to be taken at special meetings and work sessions. This action is away from the camera and quite often there is not any news media present. Therefore, the public is challenged to know what is happening at the county level. All motions to tape these meetings have been voted down, 2 to 3, with Parker and me voting to televise the meetings.

Planning. During the past twelve months, there has not been a single long range plan moved forward. The present Planning Board is essentially dysfunctional, challenged internally for leadership control. This current Planning Board has taken the Land Use Plan the previous Planning Board developed, with lots of community meetings and hundreds of citizen fingerprints, and the consultant assistance the county paid for, and “shelved” it, without bringing a viable, workable option forward.

During the past year the commissioner board majority has not brought a single stated objective to a positive conclusion. The closest was the vote to proceed with the infrastructure to accept additional water from Anson County.

I suspect that you are going to hear lots of excuses why there have not been any accomplishments during the past year. Most of what you hear will be the fault of others, I suspect.

Folks, when your horse is hitched to the wagon, it is your responsibility to hold the reins and guide the wagon to reach the determined destination. Lanny, Kim, and Tracy wanted to hitch their horse to the Union County wagon; however, they seemingly forgot to connect the traces and their horse has been wandering, aimlessly, with the wagon still sitting, still waiting to move forward.

I suggest there be a Board of Commissioners workshop this winter. I make this suggestion with the hope of developing a harmonious, credible, and effective relationship among commissioners, and between commissioners and staff, with a better understanding of desired objectives and direction by all involved.

At the conclusion of the December 1, 2008 Union County Board of Commissioners meeting, I pledged to work with the new majority. I stated that I probably would not agree with everyone on all issues; however, I consider good discussion to be a vital part of the process of good government. I make this same pledge to Kim, as the new chair. I hope there will be communication from the chair, to all commissioners, this year. Good communication leads to collaboration and understanding.

Union County deserves leadership.

Roger Lane's APFO ruled Illegal

Today, December 9, 2009, Union County's confiscation of money for private property owners was ruled illegal!



The N.C. Court of Appeals ruled today, by unanimous decision, that the APFO ordinance created and passed by former commissioner's Roger Lane, Hughie Sexton and Richard Stone was illegal. The court ruled that under state law, Union County did not have the legal right to do this. Money is now due to those property owners who were forced to pay this illegal fee. And they can recoup with interest per their legal right!



Now taxpayers have to suffer because of the shortsightedness and illegal actions of former commissioner's Stone, Lane and Sexton. Money that has been confiscated will now be due to those property owners with interest.



When will our elected officials learn that you can't just confiscate property like the illegal ETJ and now with fees that simply aren't constitutional?



The free market dictates growth as this county has never had a revenue problem rather we have a spending problem. I highlight the study done this past year by the John Locke Foundation found here at http://www.johnlocke.org/policy_reports/display_story.html?id=195



Our current debt problem has NOT been because of growth. Growth means more revenue. Roger Lane advocated building more schools as commissioner and put bond referendums on the ballot (then campaigned hard for them) to trick county residents. Our schools have plenty of vacancies which will be shown in a different post in a few weeks.



Here's a solution government leaders. Instead of passing illegal laws and making text ammendments to control more private property, why don't you focus on creating jobs and allowing more growth. Again, the free market dictates where people live and no one, minus Stalin himself, can stop that.



I'm thankful our judicial system still respects the rule of law and property owners. Lots more to come on this as our current county commissioners are setting our citizens up for huge tax increases and no growth at all. Union County is losing but perhaps a new change in leadership will change this.

County Planning Board is Embarrassment

Not that anyone is shocked that any board led by Jim King and Mark DiBiasio is turning into the latest laughing stock of Union County, it is unfortunate the way they have decided to make the headlines this time.

We all recall when the Union County Board of Commissioners, led by none other than puppetman Lanny Openshaw and his two sidekicks the liberal torchbearing Kim Rogers and Tracy Kuehler decided to disband the Union County Planning Board. While they gave the standard and overused "they are all in the developers pocket" reason for their action, we all knew they did it so as to fill the board with those they felt would carry out their twisted liberal ideas of growth management.

Well it didn't take the new planning board long to realize that the national economy had stopped development in Union County so the workload was not what they had hoped for. While the opportunity to halt all development and lead the crusade against the evil developer was now not on the table, they still had their plans to rip apart the county landuse ordinance and rewrite it so it will be more akin to something you would find in New York. They are currently so busy with this task that they have had to add a second monthly meeting just to accomplish the liberalization of the county planning guidelines.

Well, that wasn't enough either. Chairman King and Vice Chairman DiBiasio were not in the headlines enough with plain old boring ordinance stuff and with no evil developer to go after....someone would have to pay. Enter the Union County School Board.

The School Board has typically been given significant latitude with regards to the construction of schools and while they have to meet all state and local guidelines, the planning board nor county commission has never felt it necessary to step in and take an active role little on require a county major development permit for school construction. The school board is elected, therefore the assumption has been that they can handle the job and if at some point they fail to act they can be voted out of office.

A mistake made in the construction of Marvin Ridge High School opened the door for the planning board bosses to attempt to sieze power never held by the appointed group, and power that few would ever assume that they were capable of handling. Actually, the "mistake" was over a state regulation and while it did come at a significant cost to Union County, it is not really clear that the school system were the ones that erred. In any case, the involvement of the local planning board to an extent that they would have caught the mistake would likely require the planning board to micro-manage every aspect of school construction.

Micro-manage school construction....ahhhh, can't you just hear them salivating now and see the smoke coming from their ears and they conjure up images of the newfound power they would have? Many on the planning board, particularly King and DiBiasio are the type that love to regulate. Put them in charge of school construction and they will see to it that every little detail is taken care of. Pink and white summer blooming flowers with flowers no larger than 1 inch an only on the front facing elevation of the building with yellow and blue flowers only allowed in rear facing elevations however bloom size up to 2 inches accepted so long as they are not native to NC. Any native flower unacceptable anywhere on school property. No pine trees on the property due to tar, but oaks are permitted so long as they are no closer that 15 feet, and 9 and 1/20 inches to the property line so not as to drop leaves on the street. All steps must be exactly 1/32 inches wider than state requirement. School signs must be no larger than 3 feet, 2 and 1/32 inches by 6 foot, 4 and 3/213 inches and cannot be lit except between the hours of 6:47 pm-11:01:45 pm, and only with Al Gore approved eco-friendly lighting, and not on Saturday or Sunday. School spirit rocks allowed so long as they are native New Hampshire Granite and are no larger than a 2008 model volkswagen bug with no after market additions.

Let me tell you...with this crowd that is a little exaggerated...but only just a little bit exaggerated!

Recently it appeared that the power starved planning board had agreed to moderate somewhat and accept a plan brokered by school officials and planning officials which would have required the school board to meet some planning board checklist requirements but would have stopped short of requiring a permit from the planning board to proceed with construction. The plan would have allowed the planning board to "see" everything that was going on but would not have given them permitting power. Six of seven planning board members agreed that the plan was acceptable and the school board agreed. However, the night set in.

Apparently a few planning board members had a change of heart. In a vote at its September 28 meeting, the planning board voted 4-2 to trash the plan and move forward with their first plan to micro-manage school construction. They will seek approval of such plan at the October 5th county commission meeting.

This topic has so many intersesting twists and turns it could occupy pages and pages of this blog. However it is important to catch a few key points:

1. Openshaw, Rogers, and Kuehler created this monster called the planning board.
2. The planning board is limited by what it can do to punish developers due to the national economy so it is looking for other paths to exert its power thirsty agenda.
3. The planning board agreed to a compromise only to later turn their back and run the other direction.
4. A bunch of super regulators who thrive on micromanaging are about to add yet another level to school construction....and untold millions of dollars in additional costs to cut through their red tape.

The Union County Board of Commissioners will take up the matter October 5th. Will they once again side with the fringe or will they stand with the people. Stay tuned.

* Editors note: In a suprising move, Union County Planning Board Vice-Chairman Mark DiBiasio voted against throwing out the compromise with the Union County Board of Education. He along with planning board member Kathy Broom were the two dissenting votes. This adds yet another unique twist to the commissioners decision due to their loyalty to DiBiasio. Who needs Monday Night Football...watch em squirm through this one!

Commissioners Waste More Tax Money Playing Petty Politics

Once again, it's "revenge" time for Union County Commissioners.

In case you missed it, in a 3-2 vote last night, a motion made by Commissioner Kuehler, passed and stated that the county attorney go hire (with your tax money) an "independent counsel" to investigate possible ethics violations against former commissioner Pressley and current commissioners Baucom and Mills.

First it was a long-term package deal to keep unethical Mike Shalati in power as county manager, done just days before Sexton, Stone and Lane lost power now we have another investigation? How much did this cost?

Let's get the facts straight. Irene Broaddus was a member of the non-policy making Public Works ADVISORY Panel, note the word ADVISORY, that created this firestorm. Ms. Broaddus wrote in emails to a development company that she would be willing to lobby and help get their project approved for a fee of several thousand dollars.

Who is Irene Broaddus? A long-time political activist who was friends with Parker Mills and is friends with Lanny Openshaw. Actually Mr. Openshaw credits Ms. Broaddus for encouraging him to get into politics. So what about the FBI? Well, when the newspaper prints emails that quite clearly show a possible "pay to play" scheme then there's a high probability you're going to get investigated. The SBI for a fact investigated, having interviewed several in this county. According to public, on the record comments, by Commissioner Baucom, he was never even interviewed.

So, commissioners hired outside counsel for an investigation that really was just that, an investigation. Bottom line, there wasn't anything illegal because there were no charges. Now if this was an investigation on something self-serving as defined by our own county ordinances then this would be different. The fact of the matter it wasn't and never was. The only person who committed any wrongdoing was Ms. Broaddus herself. It was unethical but not illegal mind you but had those emails not been printed, who knows what would've happened.

So let's wrap up this discussion in a nutshell. The county commissioners, who are always looking to "cut the budget," have now instructed the county attorney to PAY (how much is not determined but could be tens of thousands) for an outside attorney to conduct an ethics investigation on an investigation that was only an investigation.

This is like the current Obama Administration investigating the CIA. When is enough, enough?

And by the way, we are now spending money when we don't have a firm water allocation policy in place. This means no commercial construction (to offset high tax rate) and no residential (subdivisons aren't finished meaning lower property values and higher HOA dues) and we cannot water our own lawns.

Perhaps the real "pay to play" should be explored and all Union County citizens should ask Commissioner Kuehler why her OWN FATHER applied to be director of Union County Public Works after she was elected as commissioner. Friends, that's fact not fiction.

What say you?

The Countdown...and the scary future it may hold for Union.

While many are finding themselves preparing for the upcoming municipal elections here in Sweet Union, some cannot help but look forward to a big date that is just six months away.

Starting February 8, 2010 and lasting until February 26....candidates will have the opportunity to file for office for US Senate, US House, NC Senate, NC House, County Commissioner, Sheriff, District Attorney and Clerk of Court.

While America will have a chance to limit the power of a socialist President by electing a new Congress, and North Carolinians will have the chance to take the state back from the most free spending liberal majority in the history of the NC General Assembly...Union County will have the chance to end the already embarrassing reign of Kuehler, Rogers, and Openshaw.

Giving Openshaw some cover for the next election, the liberal majority held the line on taxes this year without a doubt postponing their plans to sock it to us until the next budget, AFTER the Republican primary. Couple that with their planned cash infusion from the sale of CMC-Union, the liberals are preparing to take Union County to new places we have never seen before.

Kuehler has not been successful in hiding her desire to take over the fire departments, Rogers appears comfortable giving the schools anything they ask for, and Openshaw often appears as if he is just there to do whatever Kuehler, Rogers and the "boss"* directs, giving little thought to anything.

Ponder the harm that can come from a far left majority with lots of cash and a non-election budget year looming. Oh, and lets not forget...a willing local media to carry the water for whatever scheme they can concoct.

Let us know what you think. Where will the gang of three take us in the next year? Even worse, where do we go if we cannot eliminate their majority in 2010?

*The boss is the one who controls the Commission majority.

Union County Commissioner 7 Month Review

A new majority of so-called conservative commissioners has just finished a critical 7 months in office. But outside of no new tax increase (which is coming big time next year after the election) what was achieved? Below is a factual list and unfortunately it isn't good for Union County citizens. As is with the Governor of our state, many are certainly feeling buyers remorse as Commissioners Kuehler, Rogers and Openshaw create havoc on this county. Actually an argument can be made that they are finishing the legacy of Sexton, Stone and Roger Lane.

Let's open this up for discussion but first let's highlight a few things perhaps our "newspapers" fail to discuss as it relates to our commissioners so far this year:

1) Lanny Openshaw dismisses an emergency meeting this past winter to ensure our county bonds are safe and secure and to avoid potential bond collapse. This would have meant an extra $3 to $4 million in bond payments for 2009 alone. All that was needed was to move one pot of money into a different account. There is speculation that county officials were told not to touch this money as it was needed to fulfill special interest campaign promise for Chairman Openshaw.

2) Planning board is dissolved and $250 thousand dollar land use plan is in jeopardy. Qualified individuals are replaced with special interest citizens who supported Rogers/Kuehler. Will county spend another $250k to redo land use plan?

3) Board of Adjustment is dissolved. Qualified persons aren't reappointed (even after financial disclosures) due to political payback by Openshaw, Rogers and Kuehler. New appointees have no experience on land use matters rather many are political appointees to appease special interest from Rogers/Kuehler campaign.

4) Volunteer fireman come under fire by Rogers, Kuehler and Openshaw. In addition to a countwide fire tax on everyone, these three commissioners begin micromanagement of fire departments. Over 700 volunteer men and women have to get certain items approved by non-firemen, Kuehler, Rogers and Openshaw thus delaying a life or property that is saved. Nevermind that each fire station not only has a budget for the year but also a board of directors to hold each station accountable. Rumor has it that Commissioner Kuehler has a personal vendetta against the Wesley Chapel FD due to a delayed response to an emergency. Who's playing politics again?

5) Our hospital, the only one in the entire county, is in the process of being put to sale. Nevermind that the majority of those who use it are from Monroe, east. CMC-Union takes care of the indigent and has invested tens of millions in upgrading the hospital. Upgrades and costs that do not cost the county one cent. What's the motivation by Rogers, Kuehler and Openshaw? Would you trust any politican with $200 million as one lump sum? Rumor has it these comssioners plan to build parks and libraries in Western Union County rather than devote entire money of future sale to pay down debt. More to come on this very soon.

6) Water/Sewer. Commissioners Rogers, Kuehler, and Openshaw repeat often how much they wish to expand commercial growth. However, without water and sewer no growth occurs. Currently projects are on hold why county figures out water allocation policy. Rumor has it that not fixing this problem may in turn cost the entire county and taxpayers a lot more than just water. No solution has been proposed to fix our water/sewer problems that were caused primarily by Shalati and his band of brothers, Sexton, Stone and Lane. More to come on this later too. You might be interested to know who might thrown their hat into the ring as potential Public Works Director. It just might suprise you!

7) Finally our current schools. Fact, the county could have saved taxpayers millions had it simply delayed opening the new Poplin Elementary School and Cuthersbon High School. Those inside county government anticipate that the high school will not even be half-full. More to come on the entire school system and the fleecing of Union County taxpayers.

Overall I would grade this group's performance a D+. Our county has now become the laughing stock all across the state in regards to those who want to do business within our county. Petty snipping continues and in many cases gotten worse. Recently, commissioner Kuehler was heard cussing over the television as she lost her cool. Meetings run for at least 4 to 5 hours most nights and commercial growth continues to stagnate. Chairman Openshaw avoided a tax cut this year to save his own skin for the next election cycle. He has repeatedly said he was in favor of higher taxes. Again, I think many citizens are having buyers remorse.

More to come later.

A Golden Egg

You just voted to rob the county's saving account to balance the budget. You spend like no tomorrow. One of your members seems determined to take over the volunteer fire departments. How do you pull it all off without eventually raising taxes on the people of Union County?

Sell the Golden Egg.

Union County Commissioners voted 3-2 on Monday to move forward with placing the county's biggest asset on the auction block. Carolinas Medical Center-Union will be sold if the Commission majority of Lanny Openshaw, Tracy Kuehler, and Kim Rogers get their way. The three argue that the money could be used to pay off some of the county debt.

Make no mistake, the majority wants to sell the hospital to free up more money so they can spend more money. While paying off ones debt is always a great idea, doing so with the idea that it will allow you to acquire more debt is a disaster waiting to happen.

Given the liberal tilt of the current majority, rest assured that the county cannot afford to give them any fluff in future budgets. Commissioner Rogers clearly has no restraint in spending for schools and Commissioner Kuehler clearly has her eyes on making the great volunteer fire departments a new county department.

It may be time to call on the Union County delegation to the General Assembly to move forward with emergency legislation preventing a county from selling a major asset without voter approval. We cannot afford to allow this commission majority to raid the county anymore than they already have.

The Budget is Finished

Union County Commissioners voted 3-2 Monday to enact a $222.3 million county budget. The budget will not require a tax increase on citizens, however it required the county to rob over $1 million from the county savings.

In an unusal vote, Commissioners Allan Baucom and Kim Rogers were the two dissenting members. However, do not be confused as the two were not dissenting for the same reason. Conservative Baucom wanted to cut more from education which will spend over $80 million in operations while the liberal stripes of Kim Rogers continued to shine through with her fight to give the schools anything they desired.

It is dissapointing that commissioners chose to balance the budget with savings instead of making cuts in spending. This decision could pass the buck to next years budget which will not be voted on until AFTER the primary election in May. However, I suspect that Commissioner Chairman Openshaw and his two cohorts, Tracy Kuehler and Kim Rogers, have a plan to keep the budget balanced until Rogers and Kuehler can seek re-election. That plan....see the next post.

John Locke or John Not

It is interesting that when the John Locke Foundation issues a major study showing that growth pays for itself some find it necessary to trash the organization as partisan and unrealistic.

However, when the same John Locke Foundation does a major study on education spending that shows Union County is below the state average on administrative costs and teacher-student ratio, these same people find it compelling to lift John Locke up as a reason to save education funding.

We have an old saying....you are either with me or against me. Unfortunately, some in our county leadership find it convenient to be with the John Locke when it is politically expedient and against them when it is not.

Hopefully County Commissioner Tracy Kuehler will come to a point where she can accept all of the findings of the John Locke Foundation and like-minded conservative organizations. It would be refreshing to see her embrace conservatism across the board.

Public Hearing Monday June 1 for County Budget

The Union County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2009-2010 county budget at 7 pm Monday June 1, in the Commissioners Meeting Room at the Government Center in Monroe.

The big question will center around approximately $6 million in spending that would require a 2.76-cent property tax increase. Commissioners are looking for ways to cut the budget in order to pass a budget with a zero tax increase. However, this will require some difficult decisions. Some have suggested the the school system will have to accept less, while others have targeted emergency services and employee health care benefits.

With the schools taking up over 65 percent of the county budget it will be interesting to see how commissioners juggle the need to cut while keeping happy those who never want to see funding for education touched. It is hard to accept that other areas would be expected to carry the burden for the cuts when education is the bulk of the budget.

Look for a final budget to be enacted by mid-June, ahead of the new fiscal year which begins July 1. We'll keep you informed.