Cowboys and Indians Today

We played it as a kid. Our forefathers lived it. Cowboys and Indians exist still today. Our government is the cowboys and the citizens are the Indians.

Now I’m not talking about federal government, I talking about our own local government. The Commissioners Office, the Tax Assessors Office, the Board of Assessors, and finally the School Board.

These cowboys are ganging up on the Indians just like Governor Gilmer ganged up on the Indians in North Georgia. The Governor slaughtered them actually and the present day Indians are being led to the slaughter just like 170 years ago. The only difference this time is that the Indians are going on their own free will.

Our Commissioners office has been hiring “Consultants” at an alarming pace, friends are being put in positions of power making very good money, contracts are being awarded to whomever with no thoughts on the bid process.

Anytime the county spends over $20,000 on a project this must go out on a bid process. Our Commissioner Chairman actually wanted to raise this up to $50,000. Think about what that means. The Commission Chairman wants to spend more of your money how he sees fit and not how it should be in the best interest of the Indian.

The Chairman talked a good game about how records should be open to the public and has yet to live up to what that means. I have seen more open records go that were not fulfilled than you can shake your tomahawk at.

A “Consultant” was hired to oversee the finishing of the basement in the courthouse for the new 911 center. The mechanical and electrical were put out for bid (because they were over $20,000) and the rest was left up to the “Consultant” to sub out. This “Consultant” put some things out for bid and some he didn’t. Some records have been obtained and they reveal that he didn’t necessarily go with the low bid on those items that were bid out. Even more interesting is to find out that the “Consultant” is not even qualified to do the job. This “Consultant” is a state licensed Residential Contractor. The finishing of the courthouse basement would need a commercial contractor not a residential contractor. Unless of course our Commissioner is going to turn the courthouse into a hotel. With the terrible job our Tax Assessors office and our Board of Assessors has done on the re-evaluation over the past 2 years we all may be living in the courthouse. Would that not be ironic? Our old courthouse was a hotel turned into a courthouse and our new courthouse will be a courthouse turned into a hotel.

Our Board of Assessors just battled a Gilmer property owner in the courts and lost. The judge ruled that the Tax Assessors office was unqualified is some aspect of appraising. This happened over 3 weeks ago and the ruling has still not been recorded so the Indians can see what happened. The Board of Assessors has 6 more cases for the judges to hear. The Chief Appraiser was quoted as saying the one case they lost will cost over $40,000 when it is heard again on appeal. The Indians are footing the bill so the cowboys can fight the Indians in a court of law.

Again, an Indian won a case in court against the cowboy board of assessors and the cowboys are appealing and spending the Indians money to appeal with. The Chairman of the Board of Assessors should be fired for not living up to his purpose in office. His purpose is to see that the right thing is done for all Indians. He is doing exactly opposite. In fact, the entire Board needs to be fired. They not only failed in the mandates that the state laid down but they failed in upholding the trust of the Indians.

The failings of our school board will be discussed later.

It is time for the Indians to stand up.

I propose that all Indians do not pay their property taxes when they come due at the end of the year. Come January 1st, 2010 go to the Tax Commissioners Office and tell them you can’t afford your property taxes and that you wish to set up payments. Better yet just wait until the first of April and make a payment. Tell them you’ll see them in another 3 months with another payment. What are they going to do? Let the cowboys try to run their government without the Indians money.

Come on Indians. It’s time to rally around the campfire. We have to fight. If we don’t, the next teepee lost may be your own.