Moonhowlings

Move over Corey, there’s more company.  There now 3 PWC gentlemen vying for the position of BOCS chairman.  Corey Stewart, of course, has not said he isn’t running, so we assume he will run for re-election (if he isn’t running for the US Senate).  Bob Weir of Haymarket announced his candidacy during a BOCS meeting during citizens’ time, much to everyone’s shock and awe.  Now Tito ‘the Builder’ Munoz of Dale City has pitched his hard hat in the ring for chairman.

Each man brings his own style to the race and each style is quite different.  It should be an exciting campaign for Republicans.

The Democrats have 2 candidates running.  So far things have been quiet from John Gray and Gary Friedman.  Perhaps they are sitting back and letting the Republicans have at it for a while.  That could be a smart move.  It saves time and energy.  Regardless, they will need lots of time and lots and lots of money.  Someone we know has been filling his war chest.  My Republican buddies have been keeping a close eye on that one.

Should we start taking bets now?  Good for all of them.  At least they care enough to run.

Additional Information in News & Messenger

UPDATE:  Apparently we have been given bad information.  Tito Munoz says he is NOT running for the BOCS chair.

From Facebook:  Tito Munoz The article is false. I will be running for office, but not for the Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors. The Vpap.org information was not entered by me or anyone authorized to make that statement and was unknown to me until I read this false article. Vpap has been informed that they need to make a correction and should not enter any more data until they speak with me directly. –Tito Munoz

UPDATE 2:  When I grow up, maybe I will get this thread right.  John Gray has not announced as a Democrat.  He announced as an Independent.

UPDATE 3:  Gary Friedman has issued the following communication:

The following statement was released by Gary C. Friedman, candidate for the Democratic nomination for Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors:

“While I am not one to consider the strength of political campaigns to be determined by money, I do believe it is important for a candidate to demonstrate an ability to marshal the resources needed to effectively communicate his campaign’s message to the voters.  In that regard, I am pleased to announce that the Friedman for Chairman campaign closed the filing period ending December 31, 2010 with over $100,000 cash in its account.  I am looking forward to carrying the Democratic banner into the fall elections and championing the most pressing issues facing Prince William County citizens.”

Chairman Corey A. Stewart

State of the County Address

January 11, 2011

They met here, in Prince William County, on July 21, 1861, to engage in battle.  It was supposed to be a quick battlefield victory for the Union and bring about an early end to the civil war.

 But Union forces were routed in this first major battle of the war.  The North was shocked.  There was little celebration in the South, however, as both sides realized the war would be longer and more brutal than they had imagined. 

 This year, we will commemorate that battle.  We will give thanks that the war ended the scourge of slavery and preserved our nation.  The war was not so long ago.  We may meet living children of those who fought.  And perhaps, most importantly, we will come to understand our own place in history. 

 When you elected this board in 2007, the county—and the nation—was entering the longest and deepest economic downturn since the end of World War II.  The housing market had gone from boom to bust, and county tax revenues were plummeting. 

  Read more…

Insidenova.com:

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – –

Prince William Office of Housing and Community Development Director Elijah Johnson recently received the Sen. Charles J. Colgan Advocacy Award from the Independence Empowerment Center.

Colgan, a long-time Virginia senator, presented the award at the IEC open house on Tuesday.

 Johnson received the award for his efforts in three areas: Obtaining 70 non-elderly, disabled housing vouchers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for Prince William area residents; reducing the waiting list for Section 8 housing; and applying for monies from the “Money Following the Person Grant Program.”

Read more…

From The Prince William Conservation Alliance:

PWC Comprehensive Plan Environment Chapter 2010 Update – Developers propose 11th hour changes that will force higher taxes this spring
Supervisors vote on December 14, 7:30 pm at McCoart Government Center. Click here for the staff report and here to read about the original draft policies.

Supervisors adopted most but not all the positive changes to the County’s Environment Chapter on December 7. This consensus document, as recommended by County staff, includes input from citizens, environmental organizations, civic groups, businesses and developers.

However, after the public hearing was closed, the Chairman put forward 11th hour revisions at the request of developers. Supervisors deferred these items to to this Tuesday’s Board meeting, 2:00 pm, at McCoart Government Center.

  Read more…

The BOCS is learning and we have some new heroes.  Mike May, Frank Principi and Marty Nohe simply didn’t allow Corey Stewart to change staff recommendations on the Environmental Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan to favor his developer buddies. 

Last Tuesday’s meeting lasted until well after 10 pm.  Listening to it was worse than being beaten with whips and chains all while watching paint dry and grass grow.  After what seemed like hours of droning by staff and citizens,  Stewart wanted to change 3 different areas of impact from what staff recommended.  He tried to talk his way around the business end of it.  That didn’t work.  Staff had just gotten the copy of the proposed changes that afternoon.  That didn’t sit well.  Perhaps they remember the ripping they got over passing Corey’s ‘attachment’ to the legislative package before they had time to read the attachment, digest the UVA report, or give citizens time for input.  They sure didn’t allow him to do it to them  or the county again. 

Mike May moved to pass everything but the 3 items in question.  Those were to be tabled until next week when a side by side comparison would be prepared.  Citizens would also have time for input.  Congratulations and thanks to Mike May for good governance.  Thanks to Supervisors Nohe and Principi for doing good back up.  Sunshine is always needed, even in Prince William County. 

Moonhowlings is glad to see our supervisors putting a stop to the end runs and antics  of the Chairman.  He obviously wants to dispense with some of the environmental issues since they get in the way of the developers making a buck.  Sneaking in changes late at night when the changes have not been subject to public review is sneaky.  Using the excuse that endangered species is a federal issue just isn’t going to fly, Corey.  He must think that the migration flight of the butterfly is an example of illegal immigration or something.  Geeez. 

Note:  if other supervisors were part of blocking the end run, it was late, I was bored out of my skull, and I apologize to them.

There will always be people who want to put their own spin on things.  Actually the BOCS meeting last Tuesday and the legislative action taken really wasn’t about illegal immigration.  It was about good governance.  And our BOCS failed the test. 

No one I am aware of is arguing that the current process of checking immigration status after one is arrested is a bad thing.  Most people I know feel that this is a fair, workable solution to a troublesome problem.  No one wants criminals on the street. 

The problem Tuesday began with lack of transparency.  The final UVA Report was unavailable for preview before the presentation.  For $385,000, this just should not be happening.  The agenda had irregularities.  The posted agenda showed  recess was scheduled and a press conference planned during the recess.  Again, this was highly irregular behavior and there was no explanation given.  Should citizens be suspicious?  To add to the confusion and obfuscation, 2 supervisors left during the business meeting and met with the press.  Why did the press have to be spoken to before the meeting was adjourned?

Read more…

From News & Messenger:

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. –

Since the Board of County Supervisors’ controversial illegal immigration resolution was passed, thousands of illegals have left Prince William.

However, crime, for the most part, has not changed significantly.

So says a two-year study conducted by the University of Virginia’s Center for Survey Research and presented to supervisors Tuesday.

Originally passed in October 2007 and revamped in April 2008, the resolution states: “Officers shall investigate the citizenship or immigration status of all persons who are arrested for a violation of a state law or county ordinance when such arrest results in a physical custodial arrest.”

Overall crime — with the exception of a near 30 percent drop in aggravated assault cases — has not changed significantly since the resolution was adopted. Partly because of the police department’s efforts to quell robberies before the resolution, violent crime has been trending downward in the county for the past decade.

The News & Messenger  further reports:

On the other hand, based on several statistical analyses, the study showed between 2,000 and 6,000 illegal immigrants left Prince William after the resolution’s approval.

From 2006 to 2009, the Hispanic population (which accounts for nearly three-fourths of all non-citizens in the county) increased 18.8 percent in Northern Virginia but just 3.6 percent in Prince William

I am fairly flummoxed by the report on the report, found in Insidenova.com. Then I read the Washington Post report and it took a similar stance:

The county’s police and elected officials requested the study to look at the implementation and effects of a policy – adopted in 2007 and modified in 2008 – that requires police officers to check the immigration status of all people arrested on suspicion of violating state or federal law.

The original policy directed officers to check the immigration status of people only if there was probable cause to believe that they were in the country illegally.

The study indicates that some changes in the Hispanic population can be attributed to the policy, but the researchers make it clear that the policy’s implementation coincided with the economic downturn, the mortgage crisis and the decline of the construction industry.

Because of those factors and others – for instance, the county’s having modified its policy to be less controversial and the county’s having a well-funded police department – the lessons of Prince William’s experience should be applied with “great caution” in other places and other times, said Thomas Guterbock, director of U-Va.’s Center for Survey Research.

Walking away, it looks like there was a great deal of angst and money spent.  Perhaps now I see why the great rush to vote on attaching the Prince William model to the legislative package to the state.  See bold above.  Lucy once again pulls the football out from under Charlie Brown.  Tsk Tsk.  They were warned.  Did Frank and Marty know something the others didn’t? 

Perhaps the best move would be to take our report, cut our losses, thank our lucky stars that cooler heads prevailed in 2008, hope our house values return, encourage businesses to come to the county, and move on.  Perhaps we shouldn’t advise others to do what we did here in Prince William.  But of course, it was all about an election.  And unless leopards have changed their spots, todays legislative action was all about an election also, we just aren’t sure which one. 

Just out of curiosity, does this now mean that Corey can work on his Virginia Rule of Law Campaign on company time using company employees?

Tomorrow, Tuesday, Novemeber 16, the final  UVA Report on illegal immigration will be presented during the BOCS Meeting.   Dr. Guterbock of UVA will present the final report to the BOCS tomorrow afternoon. 

There are a few irregularies.  The report was not available at the time the agenda was published on the county website.  If one clicks on view, there is just the title sheet and no report.  As much as UVA  has been paid to do this report, not having at least a draft available is simply unacceptable. 

To add to the irregularities, a recess as been added to the order of business and a press conference  has been scheduled following the formal presentation by Dr. Guterbock.  Whoever heard of interrupting a Supervisors meeting for a press conference?  Perhaps Corey is afraid that the Chief is going to schedule one also and steal his thunder.  We feel certain Corey wants to put his own spin on things, especially if the UVA report says something he doesn’t like.  In Prince William County, the spin does not necessarily stop here. 

Why would a press conference be scheduled in the middle of a meeting?  Why was no draft available to preview?  Tune in tomorrow afternoon.  This ought to be quite a show.  Does Corey’s entire rule of law campaign hang on this report? 

CORRECTION:  The supervisors had a copy of the report delivered to their house on Saturday afternoon.  This is getting more mysterious.  Why was a copy NOT posted on the agenda?

Final Report

Evaluation Presentation

The Prince William County School Board has passed a resolution asking the BOCS for permission to apply for federal Education Jobs Fund  money to hire teachers in the current school year.  The county school system ended up with an additional 807 students for the current school year which made the current teacher shortage even more severe.  The cost for this many students is just under $8.7 million, or just under $11,000 per pupil. 

According to News and Messenger:

Prince William County Public Schools has been allocated about $17 million through the Federal Education Jobs Fund Program, but the school division can’t use that money unless the county approves it.

The School Board voted 7 to 1 Wednesday to ask the Board of County Supervisors to allocate $5.8 million of the federal money to the school division in the current school year to help pay the costs for the additional students who enrolled. The other $2.9 million needed would come from state funding.

Neabsco District representative Lisa Bell cast the dissenting vote.

The School Board’s resolution also proposes discussing what to do with the remaining $11.2 million in federal money during its budget process for fiscal 2012.

In August, the Board of County Supervisors passed a resolution stating that they would not address the federal education jobs fund money until the fiscal 2012 budget process.

The School Board is hoping they will change their mind.

One has to question Ms. Bell.  What plan does she have to pay for educating over 800 more students?  Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see what the current BOCS does in response to the School Board resolution.   Last August the BOCS got hysterical because they thought Superintendent Walts was issuing contracts to teachers without permission from them to take stimulus money.  They called an emergency meeting even though Corey Stewart, Maureen Caddigan and John Jenkins were out of town. 

Read more…

Today, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors unanimously cut  8 more officers from the police department budget.  That makes a total of 8 officers and 12 support staff in the past 2 years.  In addition, a million dollars has been removed from their supplies budget.  This would have covered  training, radar, and other equipment.  Another half million dollar cut is looming on the horizon.  The cut became effective today.

There have been no new police officers added in the past 3 years.  Supervisor Nohe asked if they were really cutting police officers.  The answer is yes.  Even though there were 8 vacancies, there are still 8 fewer uniformed officers out defending public safety today than there were yesterday because these positions were abolished and cannot be filled. 

Perhaps one of the most devastating areas to be cut  is in the schools.  Starting 2011, there will be no police officers in middle schools.  The school police officer program  has been a highly successful one which cut down on neighborhood crime, bullying, gang membership and other annoyances that seem to plague kids of middle school age.  These officers knew the kids, the teachers, the administrators, the bus drivers, and many of the parents and had a good working relationship with all of the above.  They were able to ward of f potential problems.  After this year, the schools will just have to call and get whoever responds.

There are still 6 officers who are authorized to process 287(g) related matters.  These officers in the Criminal Alien Unit only work on issues dealing with illegal immigration and continue to  be funded. 

Prince William residents are going to have to decide how important public safety is to them.  Most folks don’t give it much thought until something happens and they need a police officer, on the double.  The wait time might be getting a lot longer as retiring officers are no longer replaced.  This might be the time to start asking how much more of a loss can we take. 

Reading the paper, it seems that PWC is plagued by more crime that is associated with inner city crime.  Any time something large happens, many officers are tied up on the scene and cannot respond to other calls.  When officers work a large crime scene, that means they aren’t out in your neighborhood or mine.  Are we willing, as a county, to let this happen?  Or should we start howling and demand that PWC begin to budget for these losses from the state.  A few pennies added to our tax rate might make a great deal of difference in public safety in Prince William County.

Several folks have asked about the status of the War Museum. Need to Know, a regular contributor at Moonhowlings.net  has been following this initiative and has kindly offered his findings for a thread:

[Disclaimer: All guest posts are the opinion of the poster and do not necessarily represent the views of moonhowlings.net administration. M-H]

Regarding the proposed War Museum:

The land belongs currently to the Hyltons. They are “donating” it but the package the BOCS will consider October 5 includes new development rights that will benefit the Hyltons. They, Stewart and their proponents are waving the flag for a museum to honor veterans to garner support but it’s nothing more than a land deal to benefit special interests and campaign contributors. The “donation” of land will not go through unless the BOCS approves the entire package.

The staff report can be found at:

http://www.pwcgov.org/planning/documents/PLN2010-00379.pdf

Note that this staff report reads like a promotional brochure for the project, lacking any semblance of due diligence and analysis as to whether the project is in the interests of PWC taxpayers or not.

A few more details:

The supporters state that the project will need $50 million and that they will raise all of that from private sources. Note, however, that after allegedly working on development of the project for nearly a decade they have, as of the last Form 990 filing, less than $1 million in real assets. Form 990 is the annual tax filing required by the IRS for non-profit organizations. You can see them by clicking on this link:

http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/PubApps/showVals.php?ft=bmf&ein=200008915

The 2009 Form 990 shows total assets of a little over $4 million, but over $3 million of that is in the form of pledges and grants receivable that their statements have carried for at least two years. It’s not real money.

There’s not a chance in h*** they are going to be able to raise enough money, especially in an economy such as we have now, to build this thing without extensive taxpayer support.

 

Read more…

“9500 LIBERTY” TO PREMIERE ON MTV NETWORKS, PRESS SCREENING TONIGHT
Award-winning film on SB 1070 precursor will reach 100 million homes starting Sept. 26

Anything to get re-elected

Many years ago, in Prince William County, there was a gang on either the BOCS or the appointed school board who were not-so-affectionately named the 4 horsemen. They were seen as enemies of the school system. It seems that the 4 horsemen have been reincarnated, after several decades, on our board of supervisors. I am trying to remember . Why they were named that?   Was it a nice way of speaking of the educational Apocalypse on the horizon or was it short for horse body parts? Perhaps those  readers  who have been around PWC for a while will remember.

But I digress….

Read more…

I guess the BOCS showed Dr. Walts. Apparently many of them think he is getting too big for his britches.

From the Washington Post:

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors postponed accepting and budgeting federal stimulus funds for school jobs Tuesday, halting Superintendent Steven L. Walts’s effort to hire 180 more teachers by next month.

“We always respect and honor the decisions of our governing bodies,” Walts said in an e-mail. “While our preference is to have the new teachers in place for this year in order to positively affect our students’ learning as soon as possible, we will postpone our plans. . . . For the thousands of students who will not have the additional teachers this year, I am extremely disappointed.”

Class size will continue to be a problem as long as the budget is tight. The BOCS, however, hit a double. They got to show Walts who is boss, or in their case, who ultimately holds the purse strings. In addition, they all got to show that they wanted to ‘cut spending,’ even though counties run by smarter leaders will get the money.

Class sizes and the organization of special ed classes will continue to keep PWC Schools from being a world class school system. Walts was hired to create the best learning environment for the children of Prince William County. It seems that he walked on other people’s turf while attempting to do what he was hired to do.

The children of PWC will be in overcrowded classes while Walts gets taught a lesson and the BOCS can crow to their constituents that they voted down spending.  And whoever gets the money that would have gone to PWC Schools is laughing all the way to the bank while they use our stimulus money to pay salaries, benefits (including VRS) for additional teachers. 

Prince Billy Bob strikes again. 

Full Story from the Washington Post