The 2^nd Public Hearing on the Budget was held at 9:00 AM on Monday morning.  To my surprise a number of folks actually showed up at that time to speak out against a tax increase.  As in the first Public Hearing, the people did not hesitate to make recommendations for cuts.  They clearly expect government employees to share their pain during this recession and they fear the economy will be even worse next year.

I told the commissioners that I appreciate how difficult it is for them to recommend specific cuts in the various departments when none of them had attended the county manager’s individual budget meetings with department heads.  I pointed out that those meetings would have given them insight into how the departments operate and where cuts might still be made.  I, also, suggested that this would be good time to consider eliminating some government activities.

Chairman Raber responded that the enabling legislation leaves all decisions about government operations to the county manager.  He seems to think that attending the county manager’s individual budget meetings with department heads would constitute interfering with the way the county manager runs the government operations.  He doesn’t consider it a commissioner’s job to spend time listening to department heads.  He pointed out that commissioners are only part time and are not paid enough to do that.

My statement about eliminating some government activities was ignored.  I highly recommend the last Public Hearing on Thursday, July 15 at 5:00 PM just before the monthly Commission Meeting.  It will be worth your time.

The following is from my notes taken during the Public Hearing:

The session began with a gentleman asking, “Do you start from a “0” based budget?”  The answer from Finance Dept. representative Mark French was, “No.”  The gentleman pointed out that his experience in business and the military had led him to appreciate the importance of examining every line in the budget.

French explained that the budget has decreased over the last several years.  Commissioner Scott stated that the proposed property tax increase would only amount to $10 for a $300,000 house.

Frank Gilkerson, a candidate for 4^th District Commission seat, passed out his own information sheet on the budget.  He has set up a website: www.FixLCBudget.com.  He wants taxpayers to go to the site, review the budget and make recommendations for cuts that can be presented at the final Public Hearing.

John Tomkins asked about predictions for future years budgets.  Chairman Raber said, “You are asking a question that no one can answer.”

Lori Hackinson insisted that since budget cuts can be expected to be needed again next year, why not fix the budget (start making more cuts instead of increasing taxes) now?   She insisted that there is room to make more cuts citing road crews who stand around talking instead of working and employees who spend time doing personal business while the public waits.

Chairman Raber bellowed out at her, “This is not a forum to lash out at county employees!  When there is an ice storm, these employees are out in the middle of the night working!”

Commissioner Bowden reminded the Chairman in a point of order that the purpose of a Public Hearing is to listen to the public, not to challenge the speaker.

Hackinson continued, “I believe you need to consider furlough days.  That is what private employers have to do.”

Commissioner Stowers said he opposesd furlough days at the beginning of the budget because they might be needed later in the year to make ends meet.

Hackinson then suggested letting departments cut out those things that volunteers can do.  She added that in tough times Park & Rec can be run by volunteers.

Chairman Raber said, “If we make any more cuts, we will have to cut public safety.”

Commissioner Stowers added, “According to the YMCA, we have the best Park and Rec anywhere around.”

Human Services Director Fran Sullens pointed out that a number of positions had been eliminated from county government, there had been no salary increases for four years and the insurance deductibles had been increased to $400.

Hackinson who was still standing at the podium, responded that she has to have a $5000 deductible in order to afford any insurance at all.

Tax Commissioner Rachel Pruitt assured the audience that all excess expenses had been cut from her department.

Then Raber was going again, “We bust our buns working for you!  I’ve been chosen to be State Wrestling Championship Chair this year.  Everything is an open book.  We can’t hide anything.”

Jim Neal said, “You are the last line against this thing.  Many of us are fighting to keep what we have.  I don’t like to see cuts but we need to use cuts everywhere except fire and police that are essential (services).”

In recent months several animal shelters around the state had to very quickly reduce the number of animals housed.  In each case, they notified the public of the desperate situation and promoted adoption.  And in every case, the public responded and the animals were provided new homes.

Instead of publicizing the problem and encouraging adoption as other shelters do to reduce numbers, Lumpkin County quietly and without the knowledge of the public euthanized more than 100 animals within a matter of days.

According to the now unemployed former shelter director, Valerie Dombrowski, County Manager Stan Kelley never wanted the number of euthanized animals made public.  Yet, he ordered the shelter population reduced and these animals to be euthanized.

It seems to me Lumpkin County Commissioners have turned over policy decisions to the county manager that are not in his job description.

I can appreciate the fact that commissioners enjoy dumping controversial matters onto the county manager.  It is a smooth move if the public lets them get away with it.

Reality is, the purpose of a multi-member commission is to provide public oversight of policy decisions.  Decisions about the capacity and/or size of the animal shelter should not be made behind closed doors by a county manager.

A new mission statement for the shelter is needed since the one for our shelter on http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/lumpkincountypaws.html no longer seems applicable.  Commissioners need to hear what residents of this county want the mission of our shelter to be.

When an animal is picked up by county authorities or brought in as a stray, how long should it be held before being put up for adoption or euthanized?  At the present time it is held for five days.  Is that long enough?  A three day wait is being considered.  What if you are on vacation and your pet gets away from the person keeping it?  After three to five days, you can lose all rights to your pet.

Would the public support expanding kennel space at the shelter if it was done by volunteers and their contributions?  At the present time, county policy allows no expansion.  Do the commissioners support this policy?  Do they know what’s going on at the shelter?  Do they care?

Ultimately, county policies are determined by you, the voter.  Speak up, demand a voice in decision making, or reconcile yourself to being just another sheep in the flock.

HB 1106, effective July1, 2010, requires animal shelters to scan for microchips before euthanasia and notify the owner.  The sad fact is that animal shelters don’t have enough space to keep the animals for very long.  Wonderful pets are euthanized every day.  The new law provides protection for the pet with a microchip.

The Lumpkin County Animal Shelter will microchip your pet for $20.00 any time during shelter hours Tuesday thru Saturday.  PAWS will provide the same service during Pet Adoptions in front of Walmart.

Pet Adoptions at Walmart will take place on June 5 and June 19 from 11:00 AM til 2:00 PM.

Lumpkin County’s Budget Committee has been reviewing requests from the various county departments and making recommendations since mid-April.  Committee members are:  County Manager Stan Kelley, Finance Director Allison Martin, Grants Writer Mark French, County Clerk Ruth Bohac and Director of Human Resources Fran Sullens.

During the May Commission Work Session, Kelley and Martin responded to a few questions about the budget from commissioners.  Kelley is clearly frustrated with making ends meet.  He says he has cut to the bone.

Sales tax revenue is down.  Foreclosures and lower sales prices have reduced income from property tax.  With tax appeals still to be heard, the actual amount of property tax revenue won’t be known for some time.

County options for a balanced budget are limited to reductions in staff and service or a property tax increase.  There is continued pressure on the commissioners to increase property taxes.

Anyone who feels that their own budget has been cut to the bone had better let commissioners know what they would like to see cut from the county budget.

Just for starters, do we need to be expanding the Senior Center during a budget crisis?  Seniors do enjoy the place.  It is good for their health and well being.  The state subsidizes the program.  Many volunteers participate to make it work.  Yet, the  lower level of the Senior Center has never been utilized by seniors.  With more office space available for county government when the Justice Center opens, space on the lower level could now be used if expansion is justified.

Should government tax everyone to provide recreation for special groups?  Is this not the responsibility of community and/or religious groups?  Do we continue turning our responsibilities over to government until we become subjects of a government that makes all decisions for us?  Are rights of the individual and personal choice no longer a value?  Are we nothing more than robots if government controls our lives?

What do you think of a government that proposes eliminating firefighters, yet, spends county time in preparation to use SPLOST funds for more ball fields?

What do you think of a government that values ball fields over new jobs?  The Development Authority was to be allocated SPLOST funds to purchase land for an office park that would provide and promote new jobs.  Park and Rec was to be allocated funds for more ball fields.  Since it is unlikely funds for both will be available, Chairman Raber insists that the Development Authority take some of the Blackburn Park property instead of using SPLOST funds to purchase land in a better location.

Why are ball fields more important than jobs?  Elected officials believe that the folks who want ball fields will be more motivated to help them in the next election than you folks who are only concerned about jobs and making your own ends meet.

At a recent Lumpkin County Homeowners meeting, members said they needed to know more about the county budget before recommending cuts.  They did not realize that a Budget Committee creates the budget that commissioners don’t even see until the June 3 Work Session.

Budget cuts based on the actual budget will have been made by the Committee.  Any additional budget cuts must be based on the values of the community.  What do you value?  Speak now or trust government to make decisions for you.

Start talking with your friends about what you want government to do and the choices you prefer to make without government interference.  Lumpkin County homeowners will discuss these issues.  Read the post about LCHA’s May meeting.

Attend the June 3 Commission Work Session at 9:00 AM in Park & Rec.  Hear what they have to say about the budget.  Hopefully, copies of the proposed budget will be available for the public.

Commissioners will meet with the Budget Committee on June 7 and 11 to set the final budget.

The millage rate based on the proposed budget will be published on June 30.

July 8 at 6:00 PM PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED BUDGET

July 8 at 7:00 PM PUBLIC HEARING “NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE”

July 12 at 9:00 AM PUBLIC HEARING “NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE”

July 15 at 5:00 PM PUBLIC HEARING “NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE”

July 15 at 6:00 PM BUDGET RESOLUTION ADOPTED and ESTABLISH MILLAGE RATES during this Regular Monthly Meeting

For more information read the following great editorial from The Dahlonega Nugget:

http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/articles/2010/05/12/editorial/editorial.txt

From this article, I learned that Budget Committee Meetings are open to the public.  Their meeting schedule is not published because of last minute changes necessary to accommodate department heads.

Sharon Hall and Frank Gilkerson are the only members of the public who have been attending the meetings.  No commissioners have attended.  I get the impression that commissioners have been told they should wait for their Work Session budget presentation on June 3.

I have been told many times that Lumpkin County Budget Committee meetings were not open to the public.  Goes to show, if you don’t like what one person tells you, keep asking until you get the answer you want.

No wonder I don’t trust government.

Please note the change in time.

All county residents are encouraged to attend and participate.  We expect to have a lively discussion of the county budget.

Can we afford to expand the Senior Center during a budget crisis?

Should our county government  promote spending on ball fields at a time they are considering reductions in fire department personnel?

Do you realize that you will pay more for homeowners insurance if the fire department cuts are made?

What is important to you?  The commissioners need to know what you want.  Start talking about cuts now and make certain that you are heard before the budget is finalized.  Don’t complain about a tax increase after it has passed if you don’t speak up and tell the commissioners  where cuts can be made.

Discussions on the county budget at the last meeting resulted in the conclusion that we do not want emergency services and public safety reduced.  There were no recommendations on where the budget should be cut due to lack of information about the budget, yet, our commissioners will be voting on a budget that they don’t even get to see until June.

You would be shocked to find out how little your commissioners know.  They will see the proposed budget for the first time at the June 3 Work Session beginning at 9:00 AM.  They will meet with the Budget Committee on June 7 and June 11 to set the final budget.  We’ll post the time as soon as we get the information.

The millage rate will be determined based on the approved budget and published on June 30.  Official (required) PUBLIC HEARINGS on the PROPOSED BUDGET will take place on July 8, 12 and 15.  Do you really think your comments will matter by that time?

Join us for lemonade, cake and lively discussion.

Following the commission vote to not approve one particular site in Yahoola Creek Park for a Dog Park, they agreed to have a committee appointed to consider proposing a site.

The motion for the vote was very strange because it limited consideration by the commissioners of any other site.  Dog park proponents had been clear that they could work with almost any area within Yahoola Creek Park.

Dog park proponents have committed to pay for all improvements to the property, to establish and enforce stringent regulations, and to manage the park with no financial support from or legal liability for the county.  They have been very clear that they would not be interested in investing in a park that is not close to downtown Dahlonega.

During the first meeting of the Blackburn Park Concept Committee, County Manager Stan Kelley stated that we needed to develop the Concept Plan to get direction for the $900,000 from SPLOST for Park & Rec.  He said, “Yahoola Creek Park is done.”  Presumably, this means that no more ball fields will be developed in Yahoola Creek Park.  If indeed, that is the case, it ought to be easy to designate an area for a dog park.

Dog Park Committee members:

Commissioner Bill Scott who bitterly opposed the dog park was selected by

Commission Chairman John Raber to chair the Dog Park Committee.

Alan Roach from the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Department

Sandy Steele, dog park member

Jane Mullinex, Wendell Caldwell, Brenda Norrell

Too bad this was scheduled as an early morning meeting.  It is important for as many people as possible to attend and find out what is going on.

Committee members:

Elected officials:  TIM BOWDEN tim.bowden@lumpkincounty.gov , JOHN RABER drjohn@windstream.net

Citizens:  GARY GARRETT garygarrett@windstream.net, SUSAN BURRELL sburrell@lumpkin.k12.ga.us, and no one seems to know if Chad Williams is on the committee since he was never interviewed by the commissioners.  None of the citizen members attended the first BP Concept Committee Meeting that was held during the afternoon.

County employees:

County Manager, STAN KELLEY stan.kelley@lumpkincounty.gov, Park & Rec, STEVE PROPER steve.proper@lumpkincounty.gov, GIS, MARC KOOPMAN marc.koopman@lumpkincounty.gov, Planning and Roads Departments, LARRY REITER larry.reiter@lumpkincounty.gov

These members were chosen and appointed by Chairman John Raber. He clearly controls the committee since four members are county employees who must cooperate if they want to continue their employment.

During a discussion of appointees at an earlier public meeting, Raber asked, “Would you provide names for me?”  He added, “and recognize that certain people would not be accepted.”  It seems that not one of the 1000+ who signed the petition was acceptable.

The $100,000.00 grant that had been available with a 20% match of volunteer labor is no more.  Lumpkin County officials didn’t move fast enough to take advantage of that really great deal.  They spent too much time discussing whether volunteers would really do what they signed up for.

The latest grant that was turned down in April would have required a 100% match with volunteer hours.  The $100,000 grant with that match was quickly nixed.  There was no consideration of requesting a $25,000 grant that would have the same volunteer match as that discussed last year.

$25,000 with matching volunteer labor could go a long way toward making Blackburn Park a great recreation area again.  But if you’re unwilling to rely on volunteers, everything must come to a grinding halt until you can shake more bucks from the pockets of taxpayers.

When volunteers find other sources of funds for materials needed to improve the park, will the commissioners accept?  Or, will they continue to procrastinate until volunteers give up and go elsewhere.

Treating volunteers badly has got to stop.  There are a lot of folks in Lumpkin County who can and do volunteer their time.  Like the county, we have run out of cash;  but we do care and are willing to contribute our time for a good purpose.

http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/04/12/preston-smith-on-prostitutes-pimps-and-puppets-in-the-senate/

Text of Preston Smith’s speech in the Georgia Senate

Abraham Kuyper once said, “When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling and peace has become sin. You must at the price of dearest peace lay you convictions bare before friend an enemy with all the fire of your faith.” Today I rise to speak during our debate about the process by which this bill and others come before our Senate body for consideration. As you may know, when I was elected in my late twenties, I was the youngest member of the State Senate then serving. Today, four terms later, I am still the youngest member of the Senate, although I am now equal to, or greater, in seniority to the majority of our members.

I formerly served as one of the Governor’s Administration Floor Leaders and then served three terms as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But that changed today. In retribution for my refusal to go along with the Lt. Governor and the rest of the Senate Republicans and vote for a tax increase, my role as chairman was stripped away from me by the Lt. Governor, Majority Leader, President Pro Tem and Senate Republican leadership. I take the well today with a heavy heart – not because of a loss of any position, but rather because of what is happening in State Government and its larger implication for the legacy of our Republican party and the posterity of our state.

I have been a loyal member of the team and have fought many battles side-by-side with my Republican colleagues and members from the other side of the isle. But, inasmuch as they have handed down a very public punishment for my refusal to vote for a tax increase, I am compelled to make a public response and offer my explanation. My remarks are largely intended to my leadership and my Republican colleagues in the Senate – as they are the ones who have decided upon this course.

On Thursday, April 1st, HOUSE BILL 307 came before the full Senate body for a vote. HOUSE BILL 307 is a bill that imposes a tax upon hospitals’ net revenues to help balance the state budget. I have consistently told my leadership and my deputy whip, that I was not going to vote to raise taxes to balance the budget. I have made a commitment not to raise taxes and I believe that it is the bedrock principal of the Republican Party and the unifying glue of fiscal, social and libertarian conservatives. That Thursday, when the votes for passage were uncertain, the Lt. Governor suspended our action and recessed the Senate for a hastily called meeting in the office of the President Pro Tem. He ordered the Majority Leader and President Pro Tem to go get the votes and to tell the members that their chairmanships were at stake.

The President Pro Tem used to tell me that he would never ask me to vote against my conscience or my district. But, at the meeting, President Pro Tem Williams spontaneously called for a motion for a “caucus position” on the bill. This means that if two-thirds of the caucus vote to support it, ALL members of the Senate Republican Caucus must vote to support the bill. Neither the concept of the so-called “caucus-position,” nor any punishment for not following it is found in any caucus rules. There was no discussion. There was not opportunity for dissent. He did not even ask for the members who were voting no. He simply announced that 2/3 having voted, we all must vote the same way. Like a scene from ‘Lord of the Flies,’ we marched back in to the Senate to follow the order.

It is a distinctly un-American concept that subordinates the will of my constituents to 2/3 of my colleagues. I am ashamed that they did this. Can you imagine that some of the most deeply held convictions that people claim to have in this chamber will vanish as soon as 2/3 of the group tells them to vote the other way? Some in here have made protecting gun-owners’ rights established in the 2nd Amendment their seminal issue. Yet, if 2/3 of a caucus votes to make them change they will abandon that so-called principle! For those who have passionately argued in favor of the sanctity of life will no longer support that conviction if 2/3 of the caucus demands that they vote the other way? This is almost beyond comprehension!

I represent between 150-200,000 constituents and I am the ONLY voice that they have in this Senate. Neither my principle nor their voice is on the auction block, nor should it be abdicated to any group of people who are not elected to represent them. I represent a diverse group of wonderful people in northwest Georgia and even my delegation of House members were split on their vote on this issue representing those same constituents.

You will hear that we must pass this bill because there are no other options and the alternative of reducing Medicaid reimbursement is a worse alternative. They have after all, concocted this plan as a mechanism to game the system to suck down as many taxpayer dollars as possible from the federal money machine. And, they’ve coupled this with a tax kick-back to the state to help spend on this state healthcare program. This is an argument that requires you go along with growing government rather than reducing its size and scope.

You will also hear that the hospitals volunteered for this tax. This argument is fallacious. The hospitals were very publically given the choice of paying this tax or suffering the threat of Medicaid reimbursement cuts. So, given the choice of us amputating their leg at the ankle or the knee, most of them chose to give up their foot. But that is the logical fallacy of either/or reasoning which promotes a false choice. Of course there are other options that limited government conservatives would propose. And falsely couching their choice in those terms should not force the legislative branch to participate in cutting off the foot of the hospitals, which ultimately will pass their increase tax along to patients, consumers of healthcare and health insurance companies who will then charge it to their policy holders.

Moreover during the debate on HOUSE BILL 307, the President Pro Tem argued that we should take from those who have two coats and give to those who have none. This is almost as pure a definition of wealth redistribution and socialism as you can possibly craft. And the fact that such a system is passed under threat of the government penalizing you with a worse result is also a central tenant of a socialistic system. If a person voluntarily surrenders his coat to someone less fortunate, that is an example of Christian charity. But, if they are forced to do so in some ‘Robin Hood’ scheme by the government, that is a nearly perfect example of socialism in action.

But it is really not about the issue. You can spin that anyway you want. Reasonable people can reasonably disagree about the best policy. I am a conservative. That means something to me. I believe in limited government with lower taxes, free enterprise, personal responsibility and a strong defense. I also believe that we have allowed ourselves to become far too dependent upon government to provide the needs of our society. I do not apologize for that belief.

Let me share one analogy with you. If you go out into the woods and build a fenced-in pen, you would never be able to get a deer, wild boar or any other wild animal to voluntarily enter that pen and cage himself. But there is a very simple way to accomplish the same goal. Place some food for the animal to eat. After a couple of weeks, continue place the food in the same place while you begin construction on the pen. On the last day, place the food in the same place and leave the gate open. The wild animal will voluntarily enter the pen to eat the food and you can close the gate. The same animal that would never have surrendered his freedom to enter a cage, will voluntarily do so once it has become dependent on your handout. We became great as a nation of free men who once placed a high value on our liberty. And the survival of our Republic depends upon the retention of those freedoms.

In feudal times, the surfs in medieval Europe only paid 1/3 of their income to the King and no textbook considers them free men. Yet today, many Americans pay more than 50% of their income to the governing authorities through combined federal, state and local taxes. When are we going to blow the whistle and say, “Enough!” The founders of our country would never have agreed to our enslavement to a government so big as to give you everything you want and so powerful as to take away everything you have. But, over time, like that wild and free animal, we have sacrificed our freedom at the alter of security. We have become so dependent upon the provision of Government to meet every need that we find ourselves in a cage having voluntarily surrendered our precious liberties for the solace of servitude.

Let me share a little of my personal story I’ve never shared before. When I ran for office, I was recruited primarily by three state senators, Eric Johnson, Bill Stephens and Tom Price. At the time, I was a young attorney working in a local law firm which represented a large hospital. Shortly after obtaining permission from my law firm and entering the political race, certain leaders in State Government threatened to deny the Certificate of Need application for state approval of the multi-million dollar hospital expansion. My firm instructed me to withdraw from the race or resign from the firm in order to avoid the threatened harm to our client by the power players in State Government at that time. At the meeting called to discuss my fate, the firm was on the verge of splitting over this threat. When I refused to resign, the client and the principal lawyer left the firm so that the State could no longer extort the CON approval.

While that process was very difficult for me to go through, the Senators who recruited me at the time told me that my response was evidence of what they needed at the Capitol – someone who was willing to stand up to that kind of pressure and not bow down or sell out their principles. They told me that although the road would be difficult, they needed someone with an iron constitution and a strong backbone to withstand the pressures I would face.

They also told me, rightly or wrongly, that their biggest criticism of my predecessor was that they believed he voted the party line every single time without deviation. They believed that when his majority leader, Charles Walker, held his thumb up or down, that determined how my predecessor and his colleagues in that caucus would vote. Now, it seems the current leaders are less concerned about who they believe is a political prostitute than who they view as the pimp controlling him.

When I ran for office, several of those very same recruiters encouraged me to make a taxpayer protection pledge to my constituents that I would not come to Atlanta and vote to raise taxes. I agreed. I wanted to be a different kind of Senator – one who spoke his mind and meant what he said. I made that commitment. But the commitment was to my constituents, not to some outside group. I gave my word – my bond – that I would not come down to Atlanta and raise taxes. I believed, perhaps incorrectly, that one of the foundational cornerstones of the Republican Party was to reduce the size and scope of government and to cut fraud, waste and abuse rather than raising taxes. And, now those people who urged the need for an independent thinker – who begged for a strong willed leader with backbone who would not bow to pressure or sell his constituents’ vote – have now attempted to threaten, harass, intimidate and punish me for being exactly the person they recruited me to be. This Republican Senate leadership punishes me today, because I will not break the word I gave my constituents, which the same leadership urged me to make.

Today is a very sad day for Republicans in Georgia. Our Lt. Governor has repeatedly said that if the people of Georgia can only afford to send us $15 Billion in tax revenues, that is the amount we will spend. We will balance our budget to that figure. We will live within our means and will not raise taxes. But now the Lt. Governor, Majority Leader and President Pro Tem, have completely reversed that position, engaged in a rhetorical game of semantics and abandoned that commitment to balance our state budget to the amount of revenue that is available. They have instead decided to pursue the easier route of raising new revenue through taxes and fees.

Prior to the beginning of this legislative session, in December of 2009, the Republican Senate leadership had a poll conducted by McLaughlin & Associates. The question was posed, “When the General Assembly convenes in January, state leaders will be faced with a $2 billion budget shortfall. How do you think the State Legislature should balance the budget?” The top two responses were cut waste and cut spending. The lowest response was “raise taxes” which only 5% of Georgians chose. Only 5% of Georgians feel we would help balance the budget by raising taxes! 5% didn’t respond or didn’t know. 90% of Georgians felt we should balance the budget through some means other than tax increases. Then they asked a second question, saying, “Thinking more about the state budget, which of the following do you think would be the most effective way for the State Legislature to balance the budget? Again, exactly 5% said “by increasing taxes a