New City Trash Rules

Contributed By: Randy Harris

Ever wonder just what will be expected of customers under Tulsa’s new trash system. Here is a glimpse of trash and your future. I believe it is safe to say our cost will actually be more regardless of visions of grandeur and of course cheaper rates coming from the trash board. Remember, only the weekly or twice weekly pickup of the carts is included in the estimated cost. Everything else, like limbs, old appliances, etc. will be extra.

The ordinances will include provisions dealing with:

1. How long a resident’s trash and recycling carts can be left out (neighbors will become local spies)(You can bet there will be plenty of busy bodies)

2. Mandating that trash inside the carts must be bagged, but not recyclables (extra cost for more bags)

3. Detailing that the carts must face the street within a certain distance of the curb for collection.

4. Beginning Oct. 1, Tulsa will move to a volume-based system

5. Each household will be issued two carts: one for trash and one for recycling.

6. Recycling will not be mandatory (At least not now!)

7. Three different sizes of trash carts eventually will be available

8. The base service will have once-a-week collection. Twice-a-week pickup will be available at an extra charge

9. Green waste and bulky items will be collected under separate programs (Extra Charges)

10. Other ordinances include ones stipulating that customers must buy translucent bags for green waste (translucent means clear, see thru, etc)

11. Specifying how to adhere the stickers that people will buy for their overflow bags that will sit outside the carts (adhere means how to get stickers to stick to bags) (You must purchase stickers at extra cost)

12. Ordinance will prohibit the scavenging of recyclables from carts (City doesn’t want competition)(city claims ownership of recyclables)

13. The recyclables collected from customers will go toward helping fund the trash system and stabilizing rates, the city doesn’t want to have people going from house-to-house collecting the commodities for themselves (notice your trash is now their trash and it’s a commodity) (trash company and city are now a public private partnership ?)

14. Once finished, the ordinances and their related fines must go to the City Council for a vote. That is expected to happen in early summer. (Don’t like it, be there and tell them so!)

15. Expect cart delivery around July and a booklet about the new ordinances. (Did you catch that, new ordinances will be forth coming. After all, if we will have trash Nazis, they need at least some laws to enforce.)(Do you see bigger government in your, I mean our future?)

16. Solid Waste employees have been trained by the city prosecutor and given code enforcement authority to specifically deal with the trash-related ordinances.

PS: I do believe Agenda21 is in our future, Don’t know what Agenda21 is?
Click here to learn about Agenda21.

Full coverage of Tulsa’s trash service changes.

New Tulsa trash ordinances will address concerns, logistics.

After attending the regular meeting of the Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority(TMUA)
I believe we have done just that!

The Dec. 14th, 2011 meeting was to discuss the conversion of Tulsa’s water from
chlorine to chloramine as a disinfectant. As speaker after speaker requested
that TMUA either not change to chloramine or at least reconsider their decision,
it became increasingly clear that the TMUA considers their boss to be the EPA,
not we the people. There was a consistent message presented by the speakers and
confirmed by research. Chloramine is at least at some level a health hazard and
there are no definitive studies to say otherwise.

There was also another consistent theme to our concerns as expressed by the
TMUA. Never mind the facts, the EPA tells us what to do, so take your concerns
to the EPA.

Where is the problem? If we truly had representation at City Hall our elected
officials would stand between us and the EPA in cases such as this. By creating
trust arrangements our elected officials have abandoned their responsibility to
represent us! Another way of saying “The devil made me do it.”

In my opinion, trusts are just another way to circumvent the voters without
responsibility for doing so. The TMUA is a close relative to the Fair Board.
Remember the TARE board, a trust, is conviently ignoring the voters on
the issue of trash pickup.

To corrrect this lack of representation our elected officials must be
responsible to us for actions taken by these entities. Only we can make that happen!

For a better understanding of these issues i recommend you visit
http://www.batesline.com and by all means voice your concerns to the Mayor and City Council.

By blogger Randy Harris

The monthly Tulsa 912 Project breakfast meeting was held this morning, October 28, 2011, at the IHOP restaurant on 71st Street near Garnett.

There were several announcements of activities coming up in the next few weeks.

We were privileged to have Ken Yazel, Tulsa County Assessor, as our guest speaker. Ken gave us an update on county property taxes and areas in which we could get involved.

The following audio is “raw” – unedited and rather large (over 200MB). The meeting was nearly 2.5 hours long. If you choose to download this file, it might take several minutes, depending on the speed of your Internet connection.

The Tulsa County Excise Board met on Wednesday, October 19, 2011, and approved the levies for 2012 on a 2-1 vote. Dr. Kachel was the dissenting vote.

The audio of the entire meeting (approximately 1 hour, 20 minutes long) can be heard by clicking the “play” button below this post. This recording has not been altered or edited in any way. The meeting is called to order approximately 6:45 after the recording begins.

The primary participants in the meeting were:

Ms. Ruth B. Gaines, Chairman

Dr. A. Theodore Kachel, Member

Mr. Warren G. Morris, Member

Mr. Jim Smith, Fiscal Officer for the Tulsa County Budget Board

Mr. Ken Yazel, Tulsa County Assessor and Member of the Tulsa County Budget Board

The meeting was attended by approximately 20 other citizens including a representative from the District Attorney’s office, and several concerned taxpayers.

This meeting resulted in the authorization of property tax levies that will total over $650 million, a substantial increase over the total of levies for 2011 ($607,814,082). Even though assessed values have risen negligibly (and even declined in parts of Tulsa County), the demand for more money continues unabated by nearly all political subdivisions and agencies of Tulsa County.

Tulsa County already has the HIGHEST property tax rates in the State of Oklahoma, and is among the HIGHEST THIRD of all Counties in the United States. Next time someone tells you that our taxes are LOW, please correct this widely-held, but terribly incorrect belief.

The combination of slower (or negative) growth in property values, together with demands for increases in ad valorem taxes, will cause property taxes to RISE, even for the poorest in the County, and even for Seniors whose assessed values have been frozen.

When we tighten OUR belts, our government SHOULD, but DOESN’T, tighten its belt, too.

Citizens also need to be told that when bonds are approved and issued, the millage rates for those bonds are predicted based on assumptions of growth in both taxable property (new construction) and assessed values (existing construction). When those growth rates are not met, the millage rates must be increased to compensate.

Next time you’re asked to approve a bond “for the kids”, remember that when times get tough, you’ll be forced to pay MORE, not LESS, to service the debt of that bond. How would you like it if your credit card interest rate went UP automatically, every time the economy slowed down? Well, that’s what we’ve got in Tulsa County.

Four of the budgets, upon which these levies were based, have been protested and await adjudication by the Court of Tax Review (see Protests Submitted Against Illegal Budgets and Update: Protests Assigned to Court of Tax Review).

The Excise Board is required by Oklahoma Statute (Title 19, Section 1414) to examine budgets, estimates of need, residual balances on hand, other sources of revenue, and other factors affecting the fiscal condition of county entities. The Excise Board is supposed to be the “check and balance” against inappropriate or uncontrolled spending and taxation.

The Excise Board has been little more than a “rubber stamp” for ever-larger requests for hard-earned tax money.

During this meeting, notice the effort of people in the audience to speak and the way these requests were  summarily refused by Chairman Gaines, asserting that they must adhere to the Agenda. Notice that Dr. Kachel correctly observed that they had the power to revise the Agenda. Bear in mind that they had already agreed to alter the Agenda by reversing the order in which two of the items on the Agenda would be discussed and considered.

The Excise Board displayed an astonishing disregard for the interests of county taxpayers during this meeting. For example, after Dr. Kachel moved that the action on the levies be delayed pending further investigation, the motion died for lack of a second by Ms. Gaines or by Mr. Morris.

The heated exchange between Mr. Morris and Assessor Yazel demonstrated a disregard by Mr. Morris of fairness, legality, or responsibility. He apparently believes that if the improper amount of taxes he approves is nominal (just a few dollars for each taxpayer), then there’s no reason to question or to revise or correct the tax. This premise is outrageous and must be challenged and defeated.

On behalf of taxpayers in Tulsa County, we thank Dr. Kachel for his effort to lift the Excise Board to its proper role and duty. We also thank Assessor Yazel for his effort to correct several errors and injustices in this process.

Scrolling OK Govt

Posted by Don Wyatt. Thanks to Americans for Prosperity Oklahoma for this video.

Sometimes a little humor makes a serious message more interesting and certainly more entertaining.

This 3-minute video is a well-done imitation of the famous scrolling credits in the Star Wars movies, but with an important message to share with Oklahomans.

If you can correctly count the number of departments, agencies, commissions, boards, authorities, trusts, and other state entities identified in this video, you’ll win a nice prize. Just post your answers (or guesses) in the comment section below.

Employees of the State of Oklahoma and members of Americans for Prosperity are not eligible (that may rule out too many…we may need to reconsider this rule…).

No wonder the largest revenue and employee sector in the State of Oklahoma is “State Government”.

Click here to watch the video.

Save Your Home From Flooding

In this update to the FEMA BOONDOGGLE, a group of 11 citizens from northeast Oklahoma meet with Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt in Oklahoma City.

The attendees include:

Scott Pruitt, Tom Bates, Rob Hudson, and Tyler Laughlin from the Attorney General’s Office;

Margaret and Mike Snow, Carlotta Gordon, Nona Roach, Keith Shankle, JB Alexander, Kyle Smalygo, Monte Reed, Amanda Teegarden, Don Wyatt, and Joe Garrett.

Scott Pruitt opens the meeting, followed by an overview of the issues by JB Alexander.

Margaret Snow reviews the specifics of her case, together with several other cases she has identified, researched, and documented.

Kyle Smalygo and Monte describe their experiences with FEMA’s obstruction of a residential development project.

Amanda Teegarden describes research on water regulations and upcoming legislation proposed for 2012.

Keith Shankle describes his experience with FEMA irregularities.

Nona Roach describes how FEMA intrudes at the last minute on real estate transactions that are ready to close.

Attorney General Scott Pruitt asks good questions and provides useful assessments of the legal issues and strategies that might be appropriate.

You might have heard some of this in the two earlier posts about FEMA, but now our efforts begin to seek allies and solutions.

Much more yet to come on this!

Save Your Home From Flooding

In this update to the FEMA BOONDOGGLE, we invite you to use the player below to listen to the August 28, 2011, episode of America in the Balance on Truth in Focus Internet Radio.

In this episode, we interview Kaye Beach to learn the insights and information she has gleaned from extensive research on FEMA and related issues.

Take a deep breath, grab a note pad, and prepare to yell at the outrages Kaye exposes for us all.

Save Your Home From Flooding

If you haven’t been affected yet, you probably will be in the near future.

FEMA is arbitrarily modifying the flood maps that include your property. Even if you’ve never had a flooding problem on your property, your property may be declared to be in a flood plain.

You may never be notified by FEMA that this change has occurred. Instead, FEMA will notify your mortgage company or lender who will notify you that you are required to purchase flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program. You guessed it, flood insurance is ONLY available from FEMA.

Use the player below to listen to the August 21, 2011 episode of America in the Balance on Truth in Focus Internet Radio. This one-hour program interviews David McLain and Margaret Snow to explain their shocking experiences with FEMA.

David McLain describes his experience with strong-arm tactics by FEMA against his church and the homes built around the church in Skiatook, Oklahoma.

Margaret Snow describes her frustrating experiences with bureaucratic red-tape on farm land owned by her family since 1946.

Compelling, but barely scratching the surface of this frightening BOONDOGGLE!

Revolver

Reposted by Don Wyatt from munchkinwrangler.wordpress.com and linked on Facebook by Larry Pratt. Written by Marko Kloos.

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that’s it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force. The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gangbanger, and a single gay guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we’d be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger’s potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat–it has no validity when most of a mugger’s potential marks are armed. People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that’s the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.

Then there’s the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser. People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don’t constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level. The gun is the only weapon that’s as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weightlifter. It simply wouldn’t work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn’t both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don’t do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I’m looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don’t carry it because I’m afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn’t limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation…and that’s why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

(Ed. comment: I know people have many different opinions about this, but this article comes closer to capturing my own thoughts than any other I can remember. D.W.)