Fake Frankie and His Fantastic Funding Machine | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post appears courtesy of the Beaufort Observer.

    Once upon a time there was a former banker who decided he would run for a public office. He changed is registration from Democrat to Republican so he could win in Beaufort County. He spread the word far and wide that he would not vote to raise taxes. He promised to fix whatever was wrong with those pesky county commissioners. He promised his Democrat buddies in eastern Beaufort County that he would help them with their goal of shutting down the Belhaven Hospital. He promised and he promised and he promised.

    Upon his election Fake Frankie Waters also known as King Frankie and Zip Code Waters learned that the government did not work at all like those banks he had slaved for those many years. The Banks had to make a profit, the government did not. The banks had limited funds, they guarded them closely and only loaned money to those whom they thought would pay them back and with interest. Government was different, there was an unlimited supply of money and it did not have to be paid back regardless of how willfully it was wasted.

    If Fake Frankie made a bad loan for the bank, he had to recover whatever he could to reduce the losses. That meant using the law, bankruptcy, foreclosure. and fraud laws. Before he did all of that, he had to explain to several of his bosses how he had made the bad loan mistake and promise never to do it again under pain of losing his job. The government is different, it gives the customer nothing, and it tells them what to pay it. If they do not pay us, we set the tax collectors, and lawyers on them to raid their bank accounts, stock accounts, garnish their wages and if all that fails we sell the property at the court house door. They always pay one way or another. The police power o the state is a wonderful thing for big spenders. Fake Frankie can spend all this money, raise taxes to high heaven and no one can do anything. Fake Frankie is protected by the law.

    Fake Frankie was like a child in a candy shop. His eyes must have been as big as saucers. In this candy shop he did not have to pay, he only had to decide what he wanted and they handed it over the counter. This was like heaven to a liberal like Frankie.

    It got better. There was 25 million dollars in the Beauforrt County savings account. Fake Frankie and his merry band spent 10 million of that during the past four years. We are now down to 15 million in savings. Let's see, 20 percent tax increase in taxes and spent ten million in savings and added 90 new employees. What could possibly go wrong?

    Fake Frankie has also voted to borrow another 8 million dollars within the past year. 3.5 from destroying the hospital trust fund and 4.7 for water meters. Fake Frankie loves to borrow money because he does not have to pay it back. He just raises taxes and you make the payments.

    Fake Frankie had discovered taxes and taxpayers. You are his fantastic funding machine.

    Fake Frankie wanted a lot of things and he soon discovered there were others who wanted a lot of things too. They joined together so everyone could get what he wants. Fake Frankie became the leader of the pack. He joined with Commissioner Buzzeo and made a deal with the Democrats to get the four votes he needed to become chairman. That deal made Jerry Langley, a Democrat, Vice Chairman. Fake Franked pulled this off with a super majority of Republicans sitting on the board.

    There are five Republicans and two Democrats on the board. Well, four of those so called Republicans are RINOs (Republican In Name Only). The vote for Fake Frankie to be chairman was six to one. The RINOs outside the pack saw the light, they joined in because they had things they wanted too.

    And that, boys and girls, is how your taxes went up 12 percent this year.

    Fake Frankie is also known as King Frankie because he will make a false statement and then use his position as chairman to deny debate.

    He is known as Zip Code Waters because he ran for office telling people he would represent the interest of the East side of Beaufort County. Just as Obama promised change but did not say what the change would be, Fake Frankie promised representation but did not say what the representation would be.

    Fake Frankie worked for the destruction of the Belhaven Hospital and the 50 high paying jobs that went with it. This helped raise Blue Cross insurance rates in Eastern North Caroling (announced two weeks ago) by twenty percent. Fake Frankie represented you to the tune of a twenty percent tax increase over four years. Can you stand another four years?

    Frankie had created a problem for himself with the closing of the Belhaven Hospital. If someone showed up at the Vidant facility in Belhaven with an emergency, Vidant would not treat you. They would call 911 to take you to the emergency room in Washington. That additional 30 minutes could be really bad for a heart attack. Fake Frankie sat in a commissioners meeting said that he would rather have a paramedic come to his home than to have an emergency room in Belhaven. He said that is why we needed to have county wide EMS service. Frankie was not thinking about your health or taxes, he was voting for his personal wellfare.

    Fake Frankie was Chairman of the Board of Tri County Telephone for several years. When he finished with Tri County it now exists only as a name on a telephone book cover. Tri County has only one representative serving on a board of directors that is 200 miles away.

    Fake Frankie served on the board of the Beaufort County Hospital. Vidant now has this hospital.

    Fortunately county governments cannot go bankrupt and be owned by someone else. But, high taxes can certainly bankrupt you.

    Can we afford four more years of Frankie Waters and his "Fantastic Funding Machine"?