Apparently, some folks at the City and/or their sycophantic acolytes started messing with my Facebook page again the weekend before last in a pathetic attempt to stifle its reach or have it shut down around the time they voted to raise property taxes on a large segment of their own community.
I unrolled fact after fact to counter the sloppy lies the City told to convince people simultaneously that this A) isn't a tax increase, but B) if it is, it's because government expenses have gone up (as though no one else's expenses have).
When they were publicly faced with clear information about the large increase in property tax assessments (which they knew all along) and how that would increase taxes even with the same millage rate, they tried to deny that property values had risen. Not even the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor's Office has denied that property values have risen massively, even as they face community criticism themselves.
Ultimately, the City couldn't respond well to the information I was distributing to counter their deception, so they tried to shut me down.
I'm not surprised. The new mayor complained at his second meeting, voice wavering, that he found criticism "hurtful." In the months since, I've seen him snap at citizens who come to speak, and reprimand them like children over "decorum" because a small group clapped lightly for a speaker who voiced opinions against the government. In the final millage rate hearing, the City decided to eliminate comment cards, discriminatorily eliminating in-meeting feedback from the many people with a fear of public speaking.
People have told me that the City has removed comments on its own Facebook page or disabled the comments altogether. I've now had multiple people who don't know each other tell me that they've emailed the City and gotten either no response, or a very vague response.
Clearly, this government is getting a lot of pushback from residents who are fed up with the wasted money and overdevelopment. The City could deal with the feedback from the people they work for and correct its errant course. Instead, the City has chosen to actively ignore resident feedback it doesn't like and increase its efforts to silence disagreement, falsely labeling it as "division" or "lack of decorum."
While the City doesn't legally have to provide a public comments session or comments cards at meetings, it has been a longstanding tradition in Sugar Hill as far as I can tell. Trying to squash it seven (7!) months into a new mayor's tenure looks exceptionally weak and inappropriate.
Trying to squash people's rights to speak OUTSIDE the meeting is weak, inappropriate, and a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. Even if the culprits are the friends and family of the politicians and not the politicians themselves, those friends and family obviously have solid reason to believe the politicians want and benefit from that assistance. Ultimately, the politicians are responsible.
Whether the Mayor, City Council, or City Manager want to believe it or not, they work for the residents. Not just the ones who are their friends and blow smoke, but every resident here who pays the taxes that fund their salaries and their folly. EVERY resident should have some input into how their dollars are spent and how we grow the community.
Instead of being angry at me for telling the truth, or being mad at the people for having unfavorable opinions of them, they should be mad at themselves for creating the current reality.
The PEOPLE of Sugar Hill are not the ones building apartments and increasing traffic. We're not the ones who currently have the City in debt for more than $40 million. We're not the ones dreaming up stupid projects that turn into money pits. And we're not the ones who just lied to get a 31.15% increase in tax revenue.
If you want me to stop writing about you, be transparent and honest with people, listen to them, and be good stewards of their money.
Until then, I will be here. Watching, writing, and informing the people.
