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Erroneous
Claims by Opponents
 False Claim Number 1: “The county attorney said, ‘We don’t
have to let you vote on it.’”
[d,j,vp,d,12]
 The
Truth: This was
not said by the County Attorney at any meeting in 2007 or
2008
A county commissioner did point out, at one meeting, that
the commissioners, by Montana law, could vote to establish a
Planning Board. That is the law and many counties in
Montana have established planning boards in this manner.
False
Claim Number 2:
“They have been planning this a long time” [ib1]
The
Truth: They have
not been planning this a long time.
If “they” means the commissioners it is utterly untrue. In
2007 the commissioners responded to a growing number of citizens requesting the creation of a Planning
Board. And the commissioners are placing it on the ballot
for the voters to decide.
False
Claim Number 3:
“What right does ……have to put a fence around Sanders
County?” [w,d,vp,9]
The
Truth: Except for
the opponents of a Planning Board no one has suggested a
fence around Sanders County.
Sounds like a scare tactic.
False
Claim Number 4:
“A planning board would create more government dictated from
the federal level” [p,l,l,9]
The
Truth: The federal
government does not come in and dictate local Growth Plans.
A Planning Board in Sanders County would adopt a growth plan
that would be written by residents of Sanders
County with input from county residents. The federal
government is not going to march in and dictate the Growth
Plan.
False
Claim Number 5:
“A Planning Board will lead to a very expensive bureaucracy”
The
Truth: The
previous Planning Board was a most economical organization
with very little cost.
Right now some of the most expensive county officials, the
commissioners, do all the work regarding developments. They
try to interpret the law in a way to avoid lawsuits. They
spend more hours on hearings and meetings for developments
than any one other function of government. A Growth Plan
would reduce the time they are presently involved in such
meetings. That would give them more time
to work on the many other problems faced by the county.
False
Claim Number 6:
“Do you want your property taken from you by
government?” [w,d,l,9]
The
Truth: A Planning
Board and a Growth Plan will not take land from you.
The government already has the right of eminent domain and
has had it for decades. That is the means by which they
take land and it is limited by law as to what conditions
under which it can be exer |
