County Council Work Session A Total Embarrassment

The Council’s recent work session proved once again the democrat majority will stop at nothing to impede progress in Monroe County. The vehicle tax discussion started out as just another tax increase from the controlling left but it quickly developed into something more, a growth limiting initiative. Historically the County Council work sessions limit discussion to Council members only, the public can observe but is not allowed an opportunity to address the Council. Mark Stoops has set a precedence by inviting Charles Newmann to not only address the Council but to engage Bill Williams, County Engineer, in a debate about road construction. This bizarre incident culminated in Mark Stoops, Sophia Travis and Michael Woods, the green brain trust of the Council, suggesting they would like to push the Commissioner’s for increased standards for road construction in subdivisions. At that point the County attorney told Stoops and the rest of the Council they legally couldn’t dictate policy to the Commissioners. If that episode wasn’t strange enough, when the discussion refocused on the vehicle tax there was mention of a concern for the low income segment of the county not being able to afford the additional tax, this came from the very same individuals that initiated the discussion on the tax increase in the first place.

These power hungry democrats on the County Council need to undergo a reality check because no matter how much they want to control growth it is not under the purview of Council business. Bringing Charles Newmann, a plan commission member and self-appointed attack dog against developers, into the discussion about a vehicle tax and allowing him to put a county employee through an inquisition is a serious misguided use of the office. What this group is really attempting to do is advance their no growth agenda by leaving everyone with the impression they really don’t want to raise taxes but when the tax increase, that was their brainchild in the first place, sails through, they can pontificate how they were forced to increase taxes because of the over development of subdivisions. All the while, Bill Williams, an expert in such matters, tried his best to make this taxing trio understand that revenues from newer subdivisions actually provide funding for the repair of older county roads. Sophia Travis wasn’t satisfied with the insanity that had flourished throughout the meeting and interjected her own special variety of lunacy by proposing an annual operating permit for all out of town trucks. That one should keep the County attorneys busy for a while. Someone needs to give these misguided democrats on the County Council a good lesson in Indiana Code before they totally embarrass themselves, if that’s even possible.