On Monday night, January 12 City Council will meet for the first time in 2009. We have a rather large agenda with items that impact our entire community. I will highlight only a few of importance in this email. Everyone is welcome to attend City Council meetings and I urge you to do so.
WORK SESSION – During a very brief Work Session, Council will be briefed on the “Juilliard in Aiken – 2009 Festival” Over 20 individuals from Juilliard will arrive during the week of March 8. They will provide outreach for various schools Monday through Friday. On Tuesday, they will provide a free concert at USAA for all K through 12th grade students. There will be other performances throughout the week which I am sure will be publicized in the Aiken Standard. The City of Aiken will provide logistical support of the Juilliard visit. This is a continuing effort on the part of the City to support art programs in Aiken.
HORSE DISTRICT ACCESSORY BUILDINGS ORDINANCE – The current ordinance for accessory buildings in the horse district limits the size of the accessory building to 50% of the heated gross floor area of the principal building. Approval of any variances was the responsibility of the Board of Zoning Appeals. Last year the BZA approved one application and disapproved another. While they considered each case individually, there are some in the community who prefer more consistency. Hence the request to amend the existing ordinance to remove the 50% limit and to approve requests on a case-by-case basis. Council requested input from the Equine Committee which recommended that the current ordinance not be changed to remove the size limit on accessory buildings in the HD zone and lots in the RSS zone in the Historic Overlay District.
ABANDONED VEHICLES ORDINANCE – In an effort to improve visual blight in our community, we will have second reading on an ordinance to deal with abandoned vehicles. This ordinance will give the City authority to deal with abandoned vehicles.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL HIGHWAY DESIGNATION – At our last Council meeting, we approved placement of memorial sighs honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The signs were to be placed within the city limits on Highway 19. We have since discovered that part of Whiskey Road on the south side of Aiken has already been designated to honor another individual. Monday night, we will discuss and hopefully resolve concerns with placement of memorial signs.
SILVER BLUFF MEDICAL COMPLEX – University Health Services is asking for approval of a concept plan for a medical office complex to be located on Silver Bluff road across from the Center South Shopping Center. This project consists of three medical buildings totaling 72,000 square feet to be built in two phases. The first phase will consist of a one-story building with 17,000 square feet close to Silver Bluff Road. Entrance to the complex will be from Silver Bluff Road, but entrance to the first building will be from an internal parking lot within the complex. The proposed entrance does not comply with three provisions of the access management section of the Zoning Ordinance and the applicant has asked for a waiver of these three areas. The Planning Staff has reviewed the applicant’s request for waiver and feels that it is not a concern due to the gradients and location of other driveways in the area. Due to the fact that Silver Bluff Road is a five-lane roadway and to preserve trees, staff is recommending that these waivers be accepted. This application was approved unanimously by the Planning Commission.
There are some significant traffic issues with this project. First, it may increase exit time from Town Creek Road onto Silver Bluff Road, but staff feels that any increase delay is not considered excessive and a traffic signal is not warranted at this time. Second, there are questions regarding waivers to the Access Management Ordinance which will be discussed at the first reading.
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA – Keep in mind that City Council agendas are available on line. There are many additional issues, beyond those mentioned above, that the Council will discuss on Monday night. The complete agenda includes supporting documents that we review to determine a course of action. The link for Monday’s City Council agenda is http://www.aiken.net/weblink7/docview.aspx?id=97637
Foxnews Ticker
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Fiscal prudence a must for Aiken County in 2009
From the Aiken Standard
'Fiscal prudence a must for Aiken County in 2009
1/4/2009 12:17 AM
By GARY BUNKER
Guest columnist
The current financial crisis and continued uncertainty about the economy have prompted several of my constituents to question me regarding Aiken County's financial stability. Is Aiken County vulnerable to the budget cuts and layoffs that we've seen across the country at the state, county and municipal levels? Will revenue fail to meet expectations? What is the risk that services will be cut?
In the short run, the outlook is good. Aiken County is financially sound and has a greater than 90-day cash reserve. Unlike the federal government, Aiken County can neither run budget deficits nor print or otherwise create money out of thin air to meet its obligations. State law requires counties to be far more fiscally conservative than the federal government.
Revenues for the 2008/2009 fiscal year, however, will be less than what was budgeted in June. The reasons are straightforward: state aid to Aiken County has been slashed by approximately $600,000, interest on the county reserve funds has plummeted, vehicle taxes are down and fewer fees are being generated due to the housing slowdown. On the other hand, property and sales tax revenues will likely hold steady.
Aiken County will work to avoid dipping into its reserves this year. Though we're experiencing the "rainy days" that these reserves were meant to guard against, it's still possible to keep expenses below the reduced revenues.
Some opportunities remain for savings this year. Aiken County uses a lot of gasoline (Sheriff's Office, Public Works and EMS) and the budget assumed $3.75 per gallon. The price of gas has plunged below this amount, and if current trends continue this will offset some of the decline in revenue. Where will gas prices go? Nobody knows - but Aiken County is benefiting from current prices.
In addition, there are other "dials" that can be turned to hold down spending: delay or defer items in the capital projects fund, delay filling vacancies, delay or reduce merit raises, extend the road scraping schedule, etc. The key point is that no layoffs are planned and no significant reductions in county services are contemplated.
The bigger issue is next year's budget. Some economic experts declare that the worst of the crisis is over, others are certain that another Great Depression is imminent, and the rest are scattered across the spectrum. Frankly, no one knows what the future holds. The crystal balls have rolled off the table and cracked. This makes planning difficult.
The nightmare scenario is that revenues drop dramatically next year, which in turn necessitates a tax hike to keep basic services running. Aiken County isn't a wealthy county. While there are individuals and neighborhoods that do very well, there are also many citizens who struggle to make ends meet. An increase in property taxes in conjunction with growing unemployment will create great hardships for many families.
What does this mean in the short run? For starters, Aiken County must not overextend itself this year. The line must be held on spending by starting no new programs and being careful about adding additional funds or personnel to current operations. Prudence and retrenchment should be the watchwords.
No matter how worthwhile increases may be at the moment, we must keep focused on the fact that revenue next year may be tighter than this year. Terminating or cutting back on a program is far more painful than not starting the program in the first place.
Therefore, any increases - even for popular programs such as the Aiken County EMS, the proposed animal shelter expansion or junk yard fences - should be carefully considered. If additional spending is truly necessary, then County Council should phase-fund the spending over two or three years instead of committing to it all at once. New spending in critical areas should be offset by reductions in less critical areas.
Again, going halfway out onto a limb exposes both the county and the taxpayers less than rushing out to the tip in one bound. The further out we go, the harder it is to pull back.
The art of governance is about making choices between limited resources and unlimited wants and needs. At this point in time, saying "no" is far more fiscally prudent than saying "yes." We shouldn't commit to anything today that we may have trouble paying for tomorrow.
Gary Bunker is a member of Aiken County Council representing District 7.''
'Fiscal prudence a must for Aiken County in 2009
1/4/2009 12:17 AM
By GARY BUNKER
Guest columnist
The current financial crisis and continued uncertainty about the economy have prompted several of my constituents to question me regarding Aiken County's financial stability. Is Aiken County vulnerable to the budget cuts and layoffs that we've seen across the country at the state, county and municipal levels? Will revenue fail to meet expectations? What is the risk that services will be cut?
In the short run, the outlook is good. Aiken County is financially sound and has a greater than 90-day cash reserve. Unlike the federal government, Aiken County can neither run budget deficits nor print or otherwise create money out of thin air to meet its obligations. State law requires counties to be far more fiscally conservative than the federal government.
Revenues for the 2008/2009 fiscal year, however, will be less than what was budgeted in June. The reasons are straightforward: state aid to Aiken County has been slashed by approximately $600,000, interest on the county reserve funds has plummeted, vehicle taxes are down and fewer fees are being generated due to the housing slowdown. On the other hand, property and sales tax revenues will likely hold steady.
Aiken County will work to avoid dipping into its reserves this year. Though we're experiencing the "rainy days" that these reserves were meant to guard against, it's still possible to keep expenses below the reduced revenues.
Some opportunities remain for savings this year. Aiken County uses a lot of gasoline (Sheriff's Office, Public Works and EMS) and the budget assumed $3.75 per gallon. The price of gas has plunged below this amount, and if current trends continue this will offset some of the decline in revenue. Where will gas prices go? Nobody knows - but Aiken County is benefiting from current prices.
In addition, there are other "dials" that can be turned to hold down spending: delay or defer items in the capital projects fund, delay filling vacancies, delay or reduce merit raises, extend the road scraping schedule, etc. The key point is that no layoffs are planned and no significant reductions in county services are contemplated.
The bigger issue is next year's budget. Some economic experts declare that the worst of the crisis is over, others are certain that another Great Depression is imminent, and the rest are scattered across the spectrum. Frankly, no one knows what the future holds. The crystal balls have rolled off the table and cracked. This makes planning difficult.
The nightmare scenario is that revenues drop dramatically next year, which in turn necessitates a tax hike to keep basic services running. Aiken County isn't a wealthy county. While there are individuals and neighborhoods that do very well, there are also many citizens who struggle to make ends meet. An increase in property taxes in conjunction with growing unemployment will create great hardships for many families.
What does this mean in the short run? For starters, Aiken County must not overextend itself this year. The line must be held on spending by starting no new programs and being careful about adding additional funds or personnel to current operations. Prudence and retrenchment should be the watchwords.
No matter how worthwhile increases may be at the moment, we must keep focused on the fact that revenue next year may be tighter than this year. Terminating or cutting back on a program is far more painful than not starting the program in the first place.
Therefore, any increases - even for popular programs such as the Aiken County EMS, the proposed animal shelter expansion or junk yard fences - should be carefully considered. If additional spending is truly necessary, then County Council should phase-fund the spending over two or three years instead of committing to it all at once. New spending in critical areas should be offset by reductions in less critical areas.
Again, going halfway out onto a limb exposes both the county and the taxpayers less than rushing out to the tip in one bound. The further out we go, the harder it is to pull back.
The art of governance is about making choices between limited resources and unlimited wants and needs. At this point in time, saying "no" is far more fiscally prudent than saying "yes." We shouldn't commit to anything today that we may have trouble paying for tomorrow.
Gary Bunker is a member of Aiken County Council representing District 7.''
Friday, January 2, 2009
Recorded Votes - Part Two
I applaud Jane Vaughters for her stance in support of recorded votes at our State Legislature. It is inconceivable that we have Republican leaders in the South Carolina House and Senate who openly oppose the right of South Carolina voters to see how their Legislators vote on critical issues. While Representative Smith took the criticism personally, it was aimed at the entire Aiken delegation. His vote was easy to determine; if he had not supported to increase the power of Bobby Harrell, he would not have been appointed/elected as a committee chair. We know nothing about other members of the Aiken Delegation. Perhaps they could write their own letter to the editor or even better, perhaps the Aiken Standard could start doing what a newspaper should do; report on issues of importance to the Aiken community.
I am always suspicious of politicians with something to hide. I wonder how many of then ran on the slogan “VOTE FOR ME AND I WON’T TELL YOU HOW I VOTED”. Had they done so, they would probably not have been elected.
Voters should realize that a great part of our current fiscal turmoil is caused by our State Legislators who have fought Governor Sanford over budget issues for his entire time in office. Their uncontrolled spending has put us in our current mess. Had they put money in a “rainy day” fund as recommended numerous times by the Governor, our current financial problems would not have been so bad. It especially onerous on our education community and is now beginning to affect nearly everyone in the State. Residents should put the blame where it belongs.
We need to stop the practice of a Legislator voting one way and telling his constituents he voted the opposite way. They need to take the blame and credit for their votes. The best way to accomplish this task is to have recorded votes which are clearly visible to voters throughout the State.
I am always suspicious of politicians with something to hide. I wonder how many of then ran on the slogan “VOTE FOR ME AND I WON’T TELL YOU HOW I VOTED”. Had they done so, they would probably not have been elected.
Voters should realize that a great part of our current fiscal turmoil is caused by our State Legislators who have fought Governor Sanford over budget issues for his entire time in office. Their uncontrolled spending has put us in our current mess. Had they put money in a “rainy day” fund as recommended numerous times by the Governor, our current financial problems would not have been so bad. It especially onerous on our education community and is now beginning to affect nearly everyone in the State. Residents should put the blame where it belongs.
We need to stop the practice of a Legislator voting one way and telling his constituents he voted the opposite way. They need to take the blame and credit for their votes. The best way to accomplish this task is to have recorded votes which are clearly visible to voters throughout the State.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Who was hurt by election calls?
My letter to the editor concerning yesterday's editorial was published in the Aiken Standard today. Thanks to Jeff Wallace for his timely action.
"Who was hurt by election calls?"
"With reference to the editorial concerning election law violations I agree completely that "it is time that laws dealing with election mischief are dealt with as felonies." However, I most emphatically disagree with your statement that the "intended result of the election-eve deception was not realized." Except for Ginny Allen and her-up- till-now undisclosed co-conspirators none of us can know for sure what the intended result was. It should be quite clear to the objective observer that the only person hurt by this reprehensible ploy was Scott Singer. Certainly there was no chance it would in any way affect the outcome of the Whinghter-Ryberg race since the polls showed Ryberg with more than 70 percent of the voters backing him. Ginny Allen, as an astute political operative, certainly knew that a last-minute attempt to hurt Senator Ryberg would be a waste of time and money.
The facts are that Senator Ryberg, upon learning about the fraudulent calls, immediately issued an angry statement denying any responsibility for them and denied supporting any candidate. Senator Ryberg also requested SLED to investigate. As a consequence of this angry statement many voters may have assumed that Scott Singer had sponsored the calls. To correct this misapprehension Senator Ryberg issued another statement on June 12, wherein he "declared his belief that the other candidate for office mentioned in the illegal call, County Councilman Scott Singer, was not involved in the phone call." For some reason this statement was never published in the Aiken Standard. Meanwhile critics used this spurious charge to cut into Singer's well deserved good reputation and high favorability ratings.
I for one am glad SLED has investigated and is continuing to investigate this matter. Let us wait until all the facts are in before we rush to judgment as to the effectiveness of the calls."
"Who was hurt by election calls?"
"With reference to the editorial concerning election law violations I agree completely that "it is time that laws dealing with election mischief are dealt with as felonies." However, I most emphatically disagree with your statement that the "intended result of the election-eve deception was not realized." Except for Ginny Allen and her-up- till-now undisclosed co-conspirators none of us can know for sure what the intended result was. It should be quite clear to the objective observer that the only person hurt by this reprehensible ploy was Scott Singer. Certainly there was no chance it would in any way affect the outcome of the Whinghter-Ryberg race since the polls showed Ryberg with more than 70 percent of the voters backing him. Ginny Allen, as an astute political operative, certainly knew that a last-minute attempt to hurt Senator Ryberg would be a waste of time and money.
The facts are that Senator Ryberg, upon learning about the fraudulent calls, immediately issued an angry statement denying any responsibility for them and denied supporting any candidate. Senator Ryberg also requested SLED to investigate. As a consequence of this angry statement many voters may have assumed that Scott Singer had sponsored the calls. To correct this misapprehension Senator Ryberg issued another statement on June 12, wherein he "declared his belief that the other candidate for office mentioned in the illegal call, County Councilman Scott Singer, was not involved in the phone call." For some reason this statement was never published in the Aiken Standard. Meanwhile critics used this spurious charge to cut into Singer's well deserved good reputation and high favorability ratings.
I for one am glad SLED has investigated and is continuing to investigate this matter. Let us wait until all the facts are in before we rush to judgment as to the effectiveness of the calls."
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Beautiful Downtown Aiken
The following was a special enclosure in the Aiken Standard a few weeks ago and I thought it was very well done. I know that not everyone subscribes to the Aiken Standard and those who don't would not have seen this so I am posting it here.Just click on the link if you want to view it in full size.
Downtown Paper
Downtown Paper
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Aiken Political Operative Arrested
The following is another painful example of how far politicos will go to help their preferred candidate win an election.
In addition to the Aiken Standard article I suggest that readers check out the press release on the SLED website. December 16- Aiken County Woman charged----
The following story has been updated and can be read at:.http://www.aikenstandard.com/Local/1217GinnyAllenArrested
Check out the on line comments. It appears that law observance is unimportant to many of Ginnies supporters. Four comments sound familiar and were presumably made by the same cast of characters that produced the now defunct Easy Whiskey and the comatose Kaolin Kronicle aka as the Kremlin Kronicle.
BREAKING NEWS
FROM THE AIKEN STANDARD ONLINE
"Charges brought in robocall case"
12/16/2008 3:05 PM
By KAREN DAILY
Staff writer
State Law Enforcement Division agents have arrested Aiken County GOP treasurer Virginia Austin Allen, 47, for her alleged role in orchestrating a number of automated phone calls earlier this summer that endorsed S.C. Sen. Greg Ryberg and then S.C. House District 81 seat candidate Scott Singer.
The calls showed Ryberg’s business office number as the origin of the calls, but Ryberg said he did not pay for, place or authorize them, denying any connection to the “robo calls.”
Singer also denies any connection to the calls.
Allen is charged with six counts of unlawful use of a telephone.
She was booked at the Aiken County detention center and released on her own personal recognizance.
State agents will be releasing arrest warrants today, according to officials.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com
In addition to the Aiken Standard article I suggest that readers check out the press release on the SLED website. December 16- Aiken County Woman charged----
The following story has been updated and can be read at:.http://www.aikenstandard.com/Local/1217GinnyAllenArrested
Check out the on line comments. It appears that law observance is unimportant to many of Ginnies supporters. Four comments sound familiar and were presumably made by the same cast of characters that produced the now defunct Easy Whiskey and the comatose Kaolin Kronicle aka as the Kremlin Kronicle.
BREAKING NEWS
FROM THE AIKEN STANDARD ONLINE
"Charges brought in robocall case"
12/16/2008 3:05 PM
By KAREN DAILY
Staff writer
State Law Enforcement Division agents have arrested Aiken County GOP treasurer Virginia Austin Allen, 47, for her alleged role in orchestrating a number of automated phone calls earlier this summer that endorsed S.C. Sen. Greg Ryberg and then S.C. House District 81 seat candidate Scott Singer.
The calls showed Ryberg’s business office number as the origin of the calls, but Ryberg said he did not pay for, place or authorize them, denying any connection to the “robo calls.”
Singer also denies any connection to the calls.
Allen is charged with six counts of unlawful use of a telephone.
She was booked at the Aiken County detention center and released on her own personal recognizance.
State agents will be releasing arrest warrants today, according to officials.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com
House votes need to be recorded
The following letter from Jane Vaughters appeared in the Aiken Standard today.
"House votes need to be recorded"
"I was glad to see your editorial supporting recording votes in the state legislature so for the first time taxpayers could know how their representatives vote. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell has once again kept this from happening.
What puzzled me was that you did not take the next obvious step and poll our delegation to see where they stand. Again, their positions were not recorded. I noticed that one House member has been appointed to a committee chairmanship by Speaker Harrell so we have a clue there. How about a survey of each member of the delegation with these specific quetions 1)Do you support Speaker Harrell's policies which hide votes from the people?
2) What are you actually doing to allow votes to be recorded for all taxpayers to see?
The press will need to be of help and ask some hard questions before this system which caters to special interests will change.
Jane Vaughters
Aiken"
"House votes need to be recorded"
"I was glad to see your editorial supporting recording votes in the state legislature so for the first time taxpayers could know how their representatives vote. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell has once again kept this from happening.
What puzzled me was that you did not take the next obvious step and poll our delegation to see where they stand. Again, their positions were not recorded. I noticed that one House member has been appointed to a committee chairmanship by Speaker Harrell so we have a clue there. How about a survey of each member of the delegation with these specific quetions 1)Do you support Speaker Harrell's policies which hide votes from the people?
2) What are you actually doing to allow votes to be recorded for all taxpayers to see?
The press will need to be of help and ask some hard questions before this system which caters to special interests will change.
Jane Vaughters
Aiken"
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