Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 21:27:32 -0400
From: Caroline Siverson
Subject: Response to Heather Johnson’s post August 18th
In her August 18 chatlist post, Heather Johnson implies that when Bock, Stewart, and Petty took office in 2010, the Chatham County budget was in some sort of fiscal crisis that required them to make hard choices between funding arts non-profits and helping battered women in crisis and supplementing teacher compensation. This myth of Chatham’s fiscal instability was perpetuated during the 2010 election season, and was completely unfounded.
Bock, Stewart, and Petty inherited a healthy county budget, thanks to the expert management of our county staff and the leadership of the previous BOC.. But this did not stop the newly elected BOC Republican majority from making a show of budget cuts to county staff positions, library services, public transportation, frozen meals for seniors, and, of course, funding for the arts. Ms. Johnson’s depiction of a choice between the arts and education incorrectly portrays a county that simply can’t afford to publicly support non-profits that promote economic development.
As Ms. Johnson says, Bock, Stewart, and Petty adhere to a narrow definition of core government functions, and she justified their actions on those terms. Ms. Johnson goes on to imply that the BOC funded a women’s shelter instead of the arts, but she fails to explain that those funds were not taxpayer dollars. The money came from Briar Chapel. The developers had been mandated to comply with the Compact Community Ordinance, which required them to provide a certain percentage of housing options that average workers like firefighters, teachers, and police men and women could afford.
During the recession, mortgages became difficult to obtain for many people, and the Briar Chapel developers grew impatient when the lower priced offerings weren’t selling. They wanted to buy out their obligation to the county. So Bock, Stewart, and Petty voted to change the Compact Community Ordinance so that the developers could make “in lieu” payments to the county to be utilized to provide moderately priced housing elsewhere in the county. (Incidentally, Brian Bock himself lives in Briar Chapel.)
Then the BOC majority voted to use the money from the Briar Chapel payments to fund non-profits of their choice, one of which was the women’s shelter. Bock, Stewart, and Petty have often confused the need for affordable housing with homelessness and domestic abuse, displaying a lack of understanding of these complex issues. And while the shelter and the other entities they chose to support are worthy organizations, insufficient affordable housing options in the county remain a problem.
Ms. Johnson suggests that the BOC majority is strictly focused on funding non-profits that fit their priorities, leaving economic development funding to the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The BOC turned over $250,000 to the EDC, leaving it to decide how those taxpayer funds would be allocated. This seems incongruent with another stance taken earlier by Bock, Stewart, and Petty: that unelected advisory boards were a problem; that they should serve solely at the pleasure of the BOC; and that they should not make important policy or fiduciary decisions.
Furthermore, Ms. Johnson claims that the BOC appointed a diverse board to the EDC, but neglects to tell you that it does not include a member from the arts sector. In fact, Sally Kost nominated an arts-associated volunteer to serve on the EDC, but Bock, Stewart, and Petty rejected her after they learned of her connection to the arts.
Ms. Johnson states that she and the incumbents agree that the arts are an important “economic development activity” in Chatham County. A recent posting on the county government website informs us that tourists spent $30.77 million in Chatham County during 2012, and that there has been a multi-year trend of substantial growth in visitor spending. The arts and the creative sector in our county contribute significantly to that growth.
Ms. Johnson has not adequately explained why the arts sector, which clearly attracts tourism dollars to Chatham County, does not deserve to be explicitly supported by the county. She suggests that the nominal $200 in personal donations “from their (commissioners’) own pockets” adequately shows their support for the arts. Then she goes on to infer that she would be supportive of the arts non-profits receiving public money if it were allocated to them by the EDC board.
Ms. Johnson certainly has not helped to clarify why incumbents Bock, Stewart, and Petty deserve four more years.