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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
AMEN.......talk about undercover Democrats! Tax and spend, tax and spend
ReplyDeleteMost of the commissioners and their people in the small section of Marvin don't use the hospital in Monroe anyway so they don't care. What a shame that those forget people on the other side of the county!
ReplyDeleteAs a nurse, we take pride in our work. Many people that visit leave with a sense of pride in our work. Pride....something these commissioners don't have in our hospitals!
ReplyDeleteTo the anonymous nurse:
ReplyDeleteHold your head up! The reason there is no pride with this new majority is because they have not been here long enough to have any pride in our local hospital!
I want to know if they have ever used the hospital's services or went elsewhere for it!
As a retired businessman, I simply can’t see the logic behind selling the hospital. It is our County’s largest asset and it provides outstanding health care. Its’ directors are prominent and caring citizens of the County.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of the County Commissioners are from the western part of the county and they, as well as their friends and neighbors, use either Presbyterian Matthews or the Charlotte Hospital System. The people who need and use the hospital are primarily from the central and eastern part of the County. That leads me to question how well the entire County is represented by the present Board.
Looking at the proposed transaction, I have the following concerns:
1. We are selling our largest asset in a down market. These are the most difficult financial times I have experienced in my considerably long lifetime. Imagine if you were in a hurry to sell your home today what a beating you would take. That’s the same kind of deal you can expect for your largest asset.
2. My experience with government is it takes as much money as possible from the citizens, stopping short of causing a revolution, then spending it on questionable projects. Our County government has shown its sense of responsibility by making us the highest in per capita debt for the entire State. We are at the limit of our ability to borrow and still this year’s budget spends more than we take in, using savings from school bonds and dipping into savings. Apparently the Commissioners can’t cut spending, nor do they have the nerve to raise taxes facing an election next year. Do we really want to give them an additional $200,000,000.00 to spend on our behalf?
3. Our hospital currently provides over $30,000,000.00 per year in indigent care and still turns a small profit. If we have to pay for this service after the sale, it’s a really bad deal. If not, will the new owners provide this care forever? What if we are unhappy with the quality of care? What shall be our recourse?
What really concerns me is I fear we are swapping a hospital in the central part of the County for parks and libraries in the west.