Support the Pledge of Allegiance!
By passing the taxpayer busting budget in June, the Commissioners maintained the position of Orange County as having the highest property and sales taxes in the State of North Carolina. The new budget includes increased spending and borrowing and the promise of increases in the property tax in coming years. The board then entered their summer break with two exceptions: a July 7 Listening Session regarding current race relations issues and a July 14 Special Session to approve spending $4.5 million for school computers.
The next scheduled Business Meetings with the public are September 1 and 15. Chair Rich has committed to enter the Pledge of Allegiance Petition for discussion and vote at one of those meetings. Please show your support for the Pledge of Allegiance by attending the meeting or contacting the Commissioners.
The July 7 Listening Session was a real eye opener—not because of the usual special interest requests for more funds or typical ‘everything about our society is racist’ comments. The big shocker was when Human Relations Commission Chair Frances Castillo stated the Orange County Mission Statement. That statement says that part of the Mission of County Government regarding its citizens is to “make available to the county their full productive and creative capacities”. It sounded like something out of a communist manifesto—since when in America do the citizens work for the government instead of the government working for them? This is not a slam of Frances Castillo; it is the Board of County Commissioners that maintains this mission statement. If you truly value our Constitution and freedoms, you must get involved not only at the federal level but even more so at the local government level. Too much is at stake to let others with ill will toward our way of life control local events! Show up in September!!
- Riley Ruske
Orange County Citizen