My wife and I attended the Boone Co. Code Enforcement Board Ordinance non-vote at last Tuesday’s Fiscal Court meeting.
Anyone who reads this document has to be incredulous that it would be presented, much less adopted, anywhere in the U S.A. (maybe with the exception of Bill DiBlasio’s New York City).
An overflow crowd agreed, packing the first floor of the Administration Building to overflowing. Many turned around and went home.
I have to wonder about the administration’s tin ear in presenting this wide-ranging, intrusive document to the most conservative county in the state, two months after they overwhelming elected a Governor who ran on radically shrinking government; and this on the heels of putting tolls back on the table after voting for a no-tolls resolution.
A surprising amount of attendees were first-timers, many I recognized from community service through churches and charities…people who quietly make our community a better place.
They are angry. Two people involved in local government for a while talked to me. One said (paraphrased) over half of those people weren’t the normal crowd and the administration better take notice. The other one chuckled, shook his head and said “They really stepped in it this time.”
I also went to International Code Council’s (the source of this ordinance) website . This appears to be a multi-layered globalist website with keywords such as sustainable, green codes, solar codes, etc. I clicked to this portion of the site which shows the “successful” code official how to grow his empire.
The 2012 edition of the property maintenance code lists other codes it is in compliance with, including Int’l Energy Compliance Code, Int’l Existing Building Code, Int’l Green Construction Code, Int’l Private Sewage Disposal Code, Int’l Swimming Pool and Spa Code, Int’l Wildland Urban Interface Code and Int’l Zoning Code. International means county citizens can be bound by rules voted in by autocracies, monarchies (yes, they still exist) and authoritarian single party governments half way around the world.
Boone County has been one of the fastest growing counties in the state for a very long time. Visual evidence tells me the lack of a Code Enforcement Board isn’t stopping people from moving or investing here.
The administration should get rid of this document and concentrate on making people aware of existing ways to deal with these problems. The consensus we are hearing is that it’s a bad document that should be forgotten.
Something else struck me at the meeting. More and more government employees are calling taxpayers “customers.” The main definition of customer is “one that purchases a commodity or service.” Given a choice, there are quite a few “services” I would discontinue.
I consider customer a free-market term indicating someone who is the subject (of) advertising campaigns. I prefer “citizen of Boone County” or “employer.”
Let me know your opinions.
Vic Altherr is a resident of Union. He publishes the community newsletter Boone and Beyond…Grassroots News, with his wife Ann Altherr.
Judge Executive Gary Moore describes his Fiscal Court as ultra-conservative. Then why is this Fiscal Court adding more government and infringing on property rights?? The Boone County Fiscal Court should be ashamed of themselves for advancing the Code Enforcement Board at the expense of our property rights. We must drive a stake through the heart of this proposal..
There’s no sense in having codes with no enforcement. But proposing this ordinance was simply a lazy man’s solution. The administration chose to use a cookie cutter solution that was developed by internationalists who have little regard for citizen’s property rights and privacy rights. We need Fiscal Court to be hyper-vigilant about protecting our Constitutional rights while looking for ways to preserve property values and optimize public safety. If they’re going to use model legislation, they need to find some from a better source. Or, they could roll up their sleeves and come up with common sense solutions that fit our County’s needs and values.
The two enemies of the people are criminals and government. Even though we elected these people to office and I remember working hard for them walking and so on… They forget there great speech’s on liberty and property which we all heard. Thomas Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence “Life Liberty and Property” . So we shall never let them take from us the freedom for which our forefathers scarified their lives and fortunes. I think it is great that the younger people are getting involved. The judge executive and Commissioners need to thank the people for there affords, taken valuable time and pursuit of happiness to show them the errors of their ways. They should not entertain any more nonsense.
Apparently county government is over staffed and they are using their time (and our money) to try and find something to do so that they will not be laid off. I tried to read the new regs and got bogged down very quickly. Drop this proposal now!
This is truly a ridiculous proposal.
Vic Altherr is to be commended. We truly need informed citizens to sound the alarm when elected officials are threatening our rights. I work two jobs just to get by and the bureaucrats in the Court House in Burlington work all day long to take more and more taxes and now they are after my property.
As I am not well versed in local policy codes and bylaws, I cannot make an informed comment on the specifics raised in this article. I am, however, aware of many on the “left” who seem more and more willing to forgo our American values to conform as “global citizens”. The point Vic raised about taxpayers being called customers is an extreme red flag. Just as we hope those who come to live in America do so to assimilate, I hope those in positions of power do not stray toward the other direction: feeling TOO at home in the seats afforded them by their constituents!