Hey, Pinehurst: Here comes the John Strickland Tax Increase!

I

 

For years,  he’s huddled in the back of the village council meeting room organizing his minions.   John Strickland  couldn’t win his last election, so he was going to make life miserable for everyone who DID win.

 

The Strickland-ites were on a mission to heckle and badger ANYONE who dared to come forward with a building project or a request  to rezone property.  Most of their targets,  instead of standing and fighting, simply skedaddled over to neighboring,  more business-friendly Southern Pines and Aberdeen.

 

 

Thanks to the Stricklandites,  the village of Pinehurst has reverted back to its old reputation as a place for businesses to avoid like the plague.   Those folks have also done a number on home builders.  And now they’re IN CHARGE.

 

Think about that as  you read stories in the local paper about growth in Pinehurst and the associated infrastructure needs.  Somebody has to pay for that.   Most places have a substantial business community to share the tax burden.   Thanks to the hard work of the Stricklandites over recent years,  Pinehurst does not.

 

So,  the tax hike is going to be heaped onto existing residents.   It will be like going back in time to the days of Ginsey Fallon, Joan Thurman, fence picket and swing set inspections, and bans on children outside after sunset.  (Strickland, HRH “the mayor”,  is already pledging to slap restrictions on home rentals — even though the village attorney has told him he doesn’t have the authority, and the police chief says there has been no significant problem from short-term renters.  So, we’ll be back in court perpetually.  Just like in the Fallon-Thurman days.)

 

This is what we get for not challenging these people effectively when we had the chance.  John Strickland and his wife may be fabulous guests at Old Town and Linden Road cocktail parties.   (But just wait until ol’ Chautauqua John gets finished with your tax bill.)