Demagoguery hurts county's residents, reputation

     The seemingly innocuous decision Thursday by the Board of County Commissioners to delay easement purchases for agricultural preservation is a blow to every taxpayer -- every citizen -- of Carroll County.
     One, it besmirches the reputation, statewide and nationally, of the county's leadership for following through on agreements.
     Two, it is a slap in the face to two highly respected and dedicated county employees, who are the face of county government when dealing with local property owners who want to preserve the traditions of farming.
     Three, it increases the potential for residential sprawl and increased costs for government services that exceeds the value of revenues that can be recovered through property taxes.
     Four, it has the potential to increase the difficulty of preserving farm land if and when the leaders decide to move forward.

     Regrettably, it is totally unnecessary.

     Carroll County's farm preservation program has won national awards and respect under the leadership of Ralph Robertson and Jeff Everett. They devised a program for financing and preserving farms that has brought visitors to the county from such farming states as Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa and Texas.
     By caving in to Commissioner Richard Rothschild's paranoic and extremist views on so-called property rights, the property rights of local farmers to participate in a program to keep the farms viable, and therefore less likely to be divided off into residential lots, the new commissioners have acted in bad faith, and endangered years of good work.
     It's bad policy for anyone who values agriculture as a primary land use in Carroll County, and non-farming residents who value less urbanization of the county. But it's good policy for land speculators, lenders, developers and real estate sellers.
     Farm preservation programs of such value, which are literally guaranteed to benefit taxpayers far more than the associated costs while ensuring continued quality of life for the county should be shown more consideration than was given the measure Thursday.
     But I, for one, was not surprised.
     The farm preservation program was targeted by Rothschild even before he announced running for office. Commissioners Robin Frazier and Doug Howard do not get the point, though Frazier is pro-development. I expected the actions that took place Thursday, and in all probability, most actions taken from now on by this board will be to undermine any chance of controlling the big money industry of residential sprawl.
     That's why these several new electeds, with the backing of lesser known exploiters of public policy, opposed the Pathways Master Plan, and other state and county initiatives to level the playing field for people who just want to farm, or live and work in an area that has not become so congested with housing and traffic that we wind up like a spreading anthill that devours everything green around it.

     If the motives are purely a matter of political views, then it is a triumph of demagoguery over the best interest of the public. If it's about money -- and I believe it ultimately is about big money, and not tax reduction -- then it is a disgrace.