Clark County Council Votes To Raise Taxes... Again - Ethics Complaint Moves Forward Thursday
Dec 06, 2023 3:52 am
Councilor Sue Marshall, Glen Yung and Karen Bowerman Vote To Raise Your Taxes & OK's Climate Action Plan Consultant
For the second consecutive year, the Clark County Council has decided to burden Clark County taxpayers with increased taxes, despite the ongoing economic challenges faced by many families and the oppressive effects of Bidenflation.
Last year, Sue Marshall was sworn in early, altering the balance with Temple Lentz and Julie Olson to secure a majority in favor of tax hikes. Surprisingly, Councilor Bowerman buckled and cast her vote to raise taxes, while Councilors Medvigy and Belkot stood firm and voted NO.
The pressing question emerges: do "Republicans" still champion the ideals of smaller government and lower taxes as a fundamental platform worth defending? While some may have conceded ground on social issues, it appears that many are still compromising on the fiscal principles that were once common ground for conservatives.
To his credit, Medvigy has maintained consistency in major votes, consistently opposing property tax increases. However, he has voted in favor of initiatives like the Baker Tilly contract, which has and will continue to cost taxpayers millions due to significant wage increases—a study conveniently omitting benefits as a form of wages.
In today's session, the Council also greenlit an $800k contract with a consulting firm for a state-required Climate Action Plan. Although initially covered by grants and contributions from city participants (such as Battle Ground, Camas, Ridgefield, etc.), the catch is that it will need budget funding starting next year and in the years to come. The concern here is that large corporations will wield influence over County and city officials, dictating the implementation of a Climate agenda that also incorporates equity aspects (because, apparently, equity is a significant factor in carbon reduction).
Fortunately, the upcoming elections in the D3 (Bowerman) and D4 (Medvigy) positions next year provide an opportunity to rally support for Belkot. This is crucial for establishing a robust Conservative governance focused on smaller government and lower taxes.
If you are interested, curious, considering or just know someone who could be a good candidate for an elected office, reach out because we need to find people NOW to run in next year's elections. CLICK HERE TO EMAIL ME
Ethics Complaint Against Auditor Kimsey Moves Forward This THURSDAY
This Thursday, on December 7th at 1 pm, the newly formed Ethics Committee will be reviewing the ethics complaint on Auditor Kimsey.
If you recall, last September, the Clark County Council approved Auditor Kimsey's $4.4 million dollar request to upgrade the election facilities. This was after his request was tabled in June because several citizens brought you documented concerns about our elections that were overall damaging the public's confidence in our election process. In August, the Council had promised to review the citizens' concerns. However, when the request came back on the agenda, many of the Council members balked and rubberstamped Kimsey's request.
But, behind closed doors, Kimsey sent an email to the Councilor mostly minimizing the public concerns with a few sentence brush-off dismissals. One of the dismissals also included false information in which Auditor Kimsey minimized the ballot errors by stating that there were only 2 ballot errors when really there were 16 ballot errors among a small number of total ballots reviewed which resulted in a 1 in 742 error rate.
Here's a link to the ethics complaint filed and you can watch the Committee meeting by:
Join by computer: Meeting Link
Join by phone: 1-408-418-9388
Meeting #: 2488 201 9995
Password: CCEthics (22384427 from phones)
If you plan to give a comment, always be respectful and don't name-call or be rude. This Ethics Committee are volunteers and so far, they look to be taking their job seriously.
