Do you have financial details he got it for free or are you just assuming the taxpayers paid for it directly? Plenty of my non-politician neighbors have discounted blacktop driveways by working out a deal with the paving company to do it while they have the equipment present.
Neither. I, like OP, am asking the question if it was free. People can ask questions without making accusations. I don’t know what is so difficult to understand about that. Sheesh. And FYI, the law is different for elected officials than for your “non-politician neighbors.” JFC. How do you not get that?
I think you and OP are the same person. Why don’t you gather courage and walk to his door and ask him the same question politely. Also it’s Christmas time, relax and enjoy the holiday season instead of trying to get people riled up online and spread negativity and animosity. I bet you never questioned the billions being handed out to other countries for wars yet you are whining about petty matter that too while simply assuming the Mayor didn’t pay for the driveway.
lol. I think you’re in love with Tommy Battle. Why don’t you gather the courage to walk to his door, take him some flowers and sing him a love song?
You can “bet” whatever you want about me, but that doesn’t make it true or come from a place of rational deduction. I bet you’re not very bright.
I stumbled across an app or website while trying to fix my own plumbing issue where you can video chat with expert and they walk you through your diy. I didn't use it and so I don't remember the website, but it may be a wfh solution for ya! Or at least some extra "idgf money"
See I field a lot of phone calls for friends and family and over 50% of the time it ends with me heading to their house. I could not imagine providing FaceTime assistance to someone out of their element lol
I'm 3 years away from that sweet, sweet 8 hrs of annual per pay period. And by then, my little germ-lins will hopefully stop being sick every other week.
Oh blessed day when I have use or lose to engage in the December-January fuckoffery!
Fun fact, given the number of employees taking use-or-lose, there aren't very many folks actually at work.
Given the limited return to work post-CoVid, the two days I'm in the office now remind me of the pre-telework holiday environment.
2 days left of work for me too!! Happy holidays!!!!
Edit: We get a "gift of time" twice a year. Paid time off. Usually the week of 4th of July and during Christmas/ New years.
This kind of apathy is why corruption flourishes. I always have fucks to give when my tax dollars are used to illegally and personally profit those in power.
It could be or he could've paid for it. None of us know though 🤷🏾♂️
I'm sure driveways are probably the least of our worries as far as misused tax dollars are a concern though, unfortunately
By that logic, him buying groceries is a problem. Hell, every government contractor in town technically uses tax dollars to buy literally everything they buy.
If he paid for it out of his own wallet, it's fair game. If he paid for use using ALDOT or any other government function (and it was his own driveway and not the road in front of it), then I agree it's a problem.
EDIT: Unless you're saying "who gives a shit" in the "who cares how he spend his money" way. In which case, I rescind my snarky comment and replace it with "yeah, I agree"
How are tax dollars paying for it? If you mean that tax dollars pay his salary, they stop being "out tax dollars" once he's paid.
If you have a problem with that chain of monetary custody, then you're in for a ride awakening when you find out what people whose salaries are paid by tax revenues buy ...
Um, it’s his personal money if it’s money he earns as an employee. It’s not “tax dollars” if it’s earned income from a job that taxpayers hire him for. Sheesh.
Both his paycheck and allocated city budgets are objectively tax dollars, sheesh.
Anyway I think you took my initial comment rather pedantically . It was a joke, but nonetheless accurate.
If you don’t know the difference between somebody’s earned income and the public treasury, I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess you’re neither a business person nor a lawyer, but definitely went through the Alabama public school system.
And I'm going to assume that I hold roughly +50 IQ points on you, considering my last comment defining the context of the original further as a tongue in cheek sarcastic joke, failed to register and you just regurgitated the exact same misunderstanding a second time.
I'm a product of the King County School district in Washington State, I've only lived in Huntsville for the last two years out here in Hampton Cove. I hope you didn't bonk your head falling off that limb.
Either Kings County does a terrible job of teaching its students to write satire or you’re just terrible at writing satire. I’m sure 50 IQ points is all ya got.
Yes I must have missed the intro to satire and comedic writing elective in grade school. Pop another weight loss pill and continue to project your own inferiority by insulting people's intelligence unprovoked all over Reddit.
You probably work at a Kroger, if you're even employed at all, stealing food and shoveling it down your fat face in the break room--nearly laugh choking to death with a Little Debbie in your mouth calling yet another person on Reddit an idiot. 👌🏼
lol
1. You brought up IQ, not me, Einstein.
2. “You probably work at Kroger …” ??? Seriously? You have something against front line workers doing an honest day’s work? You’re such an arrogant snob that working at Kroger is beneath you? Kroger employees are not as good as you? They’re just lowly losers, unlike your highly accomplished, bad satire-writing self?
Clearly you’re such a bored, angry little troll that you have nothing better to do than to fantasize scenarios about what I look like and how I earn my living. In a town full of rocket scientists and engineers ffs. 🤔 Pathetic.
You did in fact infer that they and anyone having came up through the Alabama education system, is stupid. So yes, you were the first one to bring up intelligence in this convo. -----
"I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess you’re neither a business person nor a lawyer, but definitely went through the Alabama public school system. "
It is. It's usefulness for roads is that it can be recycled periodically to resurface the road. It is by design supposed to not be a permanent solution.
My sister had her 1/2 mile chirt driveway paved by some workers that were filling potholes on a street nearby in her small town. Her husband saw them patching, and just went up to them and asked how much it would be for their driveway. It turns out that they said if they had any extra asphalt they could give him a good deal that day and it would help them with not having to dispose of the extra. It turns out they only had enough for half, and he took the deal. Then about a month later those same workers had another local project and called and asked if they still needed the rest of the driveway done. They did so the workers came later that day and finished the job.
They were originally quoted around 10,000$ by a private company to do it, but only paid these workers about $3000 total for using up their "extra" asphalt and time. Those contractors were hired by the city for pothole fixing, and I'm sure their time and asphalt was ALSO paid for by the city, so the company definitely got some extra money, did not have to dispose of extra asphalt, and my sister got a great deal.
Maybe it was that type of arrangement?
They were repaving the road in front of my father in laws house and they knocked on his door and asked if he wanted them to pave the off street in front of their house with their extra asphalt for free. It was 350ft of free repaving.
So he can make changes to his home without some nosy Karen down the street complaining. I suggest you march right up do his door & demand an answer. Or try writing a strongly wordrd letter to the city council. You're doing a lof of assuming in your post.
Elected officials are not to be treated as ordinary people who are afforded common courtesies. They are not to be seen as relatable. They are a means to an end. With all of the benefits, power, and protection that they are allowed, this philosophy is a means of checks and balances. This applies 24/7 and independent of whether you support them or not. If they can’t psychologically handle this, then they shouldn’t be in the position.
OP is still making a lot of assumptions & saying things without any facts to back them up. Unless you know the circumstances under which the driveway was paved, you should mot be making public accustaions. This applies to any citizen, public or private.
Who owns the home? Has it sold? Was it taken off the market?
"This looks like blatant misuse of public funds". How do you know it wasn't paid for with private funds? You are assuming it is a misuse of public funds.
One of how many driveways were paved? Have you driven up & down with a certain distance or radius in the neighborhood & noted each driveway? You question in you post whether it's the only one.
“It LOOKS like a blatant misuse of funds” is a fact. Whether it is or not is an assumption that OP did NOT make. He’s posting to bring awareness that someone should perhaps investigate.
I used to live in Limestone county and ALDOT had a contractor paving near Capshaw and McCulley Mill road. They swung by and said they had two extra trucks of asphalt that they’d give me at cost because they ordered more that day than they needed if I wanted them to pave over my gravel up to where the concrete driveway started. They also said they’d handle the grading and leveling if we took the asphalt off their hands.
It happens a lot and isn’t uncommon. That’s how my grandparents also got their gravel driveway paved.
Are you a public official legally bound by ethical obligations, required to report gifts and contributions, a d legally obligated to avoid conflicts of interest?
It’s neither a gift or a contribution. It’s a service. Paid for with a transaction.
But I’m a federal employee. I think the OPM manual says I have to report all gifts over $20. Meaning things I did not give someone else money for.
Services can definitely be gifts. As a federal employee, you should know that. Free massage? Free tax return prep? Free haircut? Free car repair? Free paving of your driveway. Ad infinitum. People give free services as gifts all the time. Merry Christmas.
OP is TRYING TO GET THE FACTS VERIFIED! Wouldn’t it be great if people were allowed to ask questions without being attacked by people who have reading comprehension problems?
JFC you don’t need proof to raise a question! OP is simply asking a legitimate question that we all should want answered and isn’t accusing him of anything at this point, simply looking for answers. Why aren’t you?
Since you're looking for outlets for this concern -- try NextDoor. Your unsupported speculation seems truly suited to that platform. I'm all for holding public officials accountable, but you're building castles in the sky with this one. Good grief.
Saying “on the surface it looks like a misuse of funds” is not a fact it’s quite literally the opposite, you’re making an assumption based on what it looks like on the surface and half of the people in the comments disagreeing with you proves that point
I cannot for the life of me figure out how so many in this thread people see this statement as some kind of fact, and not an opinion or assumption. Its a fact the driveway is paved, how it was paid for is speculation/opinion/assumption without some kind of evidence. I really thought this was intuitive and I'm a bit concerned.
I don't think the word facts means what you think it means. The only fact that you have presented is that a road was paved and he now has a blacktop.
You have NO facts as to who did the work, who PAID for the work, or if in FACT (as you ASSUME) it was a misuse of funds. Perception matters but it's often short of facts.
As another redditor said, Google street view shows it has been asphalt all 4 times they've imaged it from 2007 through the last image last fall. So why bring this up now? How long have you lived there?
None of this is fact, unless you mean he got a new driveway. That is a fact. How it's paid for is pure speculation. And you're so not sure about it that you made a new profile just for his driveway alone. You saw a public official doing something pricey and automatically assumed they used public funds. Even you saying that it "objectively looks like...." proved right there that this is not a fact. You're guessing.
I remember when I was a kid my house had an asphalt driveway and it would get re-done if they were ever repaving the road. I assume my parents made a deal with the contractors who were doing the road at the time to hit our driveway also, probably at a nice discount because all the equipment was out there anyway.
I'm not saying there's nothing shady going on here but it also could be 100% above board. Considering he's the mayor I guess the money for it is coming from our taxes either way.
Were your parents public officials bound by ethical obligations and required to report gifts and contributions, including in-kind contributions, and also required to abstain from any conflicts of interest?
No, but if he paid out of pocket for the paving, even at a discount because the workers were already out there for the road, then I don't see how this is any kind of ethical violation. It's not like it's something completely out of reach for any homeowner in the city.
There's no proof of this. Google street view also shows it has been asphalt all 4 times they've imaged it from 2007 through the last image last fall. This post is just speculation.
There's no proof of this. Google street view also shows it has been asphalt all 4 times they've imaged it from 2007 through the last image last fall. This post is just speculation.
This is like cartoonish gossip where two old "hens" are telling tales while hanging out laundry on the lines. At one point you're speculating, then you're just making $hit up. If you have proof that he screwed someone over or did something dirty, then fine, but obviously this is gossip level nonsense.
Making some wild-ass assumptions, aren't you?
Many many years ago when I worked for ALDOT paving crews would run out their hopper at the end of the day in whichever driveway they were closest to. Sometimes the crew would pave driveways for extra cash during lunch. It's cheap because a large piece of the cost of paving a driveway is moving the machinery in.
Unless you have proof of impropriety, you're making an ass out of yourself.
No, but pouring hot asphalt on him most certainly qualifies as "cruel and unusual punishment".
Like seriously....when you think about it that's a bit fucked up. I think Tommy Battle is a bit of a cunt, but I wouldn't do something THAT horrid....Jesus.
Oh. Well I guess I slept through the masonry portion of my snarky response writing class. Let’s go with cement shoes, only he’s up to his ankles in his new driveway.
That's more like it =D .
It starts like a horrible punishment, and then achieves not only the goal of being poetic justice, but also attains the goal of ultimately being a mundane inconvenience that is resolved with two hours, a sledgehammer and a chisel. However, he would have to be standing there the whole time thinking about his misuse of public funds for his convenience.
I have heard people getting stuff like that done, the subcontractor for the city may have just charged him material and base labor to do it.
Had I had the opportunity to do the same I would and have talked about such things in the county where its still more common.
I want a black top driveway. I just have gravel now.
Which probably means that it's completely unrelated to the actual paving that the city did on his street, where they used real asphalt. OP is a bitchy loon, who misses the fact that the city resources necessary to respond to this nonsense will be the only taxpayer expense incurred.
OP, you are right and not accusing anybody of anything, just asking reasonable questions. The cult mentality here that we can’t question a public official’s actions without inane accusations is the engineered product of Alabama’s intentionally shitty school system, where they just teach groupthink and herd mentality , and heaven forbid you should ever ask a freaking question about a Republican authority figure. I’m glad you asked and understand the spirit in which your question was asked.
We had repaving on our street a few years ago in Harvest and they extra left over and asked if we wanted ours paved. We paid for it. Maybe it's something like that.
Knock on his door and ask him, not us. You are going to burn up worrying about political things, pun intended. You see what I did there huh huh
Sincerely,
Pat Magroin
no matter who did it he had to get a building permit to do it legally. i always thought it odd that his secretary is a major sponsor of art museum exhibits.
My dad was in a neighborhood where the road was being repaved. He paid the company extra to do his driveway.
This could be legit, but if it bothers you, check it out. Ask the company doing the work.
If it can be demonstrated that any portion of what he did was misuse of public funds or services, crucify him.
But until that can be demonstrated, sounds like it's just a "fuck you, I got mine" wealth-o-phile flaunting his status.
I live out in the county...New Market...older subdivision and a nearby neighbor also just had a driveway paved like that. Paid for I'm sure....its not necessarily tax dollars is all I'm saying.
He literally postponed having the street on which he lives repaired, specifically to avoid the "bad look" you describe. Other people live on and traverse that street, and I can personally say it's nice to have it finally get the attention it's needed FOR YEARS.
I totally respect your answers, questions, and feedback; I am one of the (main) people over removing & replacing driveway aprons, sidewalks, and/or curb & gutter where it needs to be removed & replaced prior to paving. We ALWAYS hold our standard integrity closest by. We have continued and survived along the infamous corona virus and look to exclusively serve anyone wanting/needing concrete in their yard or commercial property. If we have done one of your streets and you have had any issues please let me know.
Tommy seems to be a pretty OK guy.
If you want to bitch about anything, bitch about his toddler haircut and the "aw shucks" fake hick act he's been banking on since he was first elected.
Yes, people care. I’m a Conservative & can’t stand him. Where is the money going in this town? Why all of the homeless people all of the sudden everywhere? Why don’t roads ever get fixed when we have tons of people moving here which means more tax revenue?! I could keep going but I’ve made my point.
I mean I print personal documents at work so…same difference. If it was something bigger maybe, but just a driveway on a road they were already working on… whatever. Sure it’s not 200% above board, but not worth causing a stink over.
[удалено]
It’s not a “hit piece” if it’s exposing corrupt use of taxpayer money. The person to contact is [email protected]. Ask him to look into it.
Do you have financial details he got it for free or are you just assuming the taxpayers paid for it directly? Plenty of my non-politician neighbors have discounted blacktop driveways by working out a deal with the paving company to do it while they have the equipment present.
Neither. I, like OP, am asking the question if it was free. People can ask questions without making accusations. I don’t know what is so difficult to understand about that. Sheesh. And FYI, the law is different for elected officials than for your “non-politician neighbors.” JFC. How do you not get that?
I think you and OP are the same person. Why don’t you gather courage and walk to his door and ask him the same question politely. Also it’s Christmas time, relax and enjoy the holiday season instead of trying to get people riled up online and spread negativity and animosity. I bet you never questioned the billions being handed out to other countries for wars yet you are whining about petty matter that too while simply assuming the Mayor didn’t pay for the driveway.
lol. I think you’re in love with Tommy Battle. Why don’t you gather the courage to walk to his door, take him some flowers and sing him a love song? You can “bet” whatever you want about me, but that doesn’t make it true or come from a place of rational deduction. I bet you’re not very bright.
Read all comments, you will know who is not very bright.
I have no fucks left this year to allocate to this issue. Thank you for asking my thoughts.
Good thing 2024 is right around the corner!
1.5 work days left!
Damn. Either you're a teacher and I'm not jealous. OR you're not a teacher and I am jealous of your extensive holiday vacation time.
Federal worker with use or lose :)
I’ll never save up enough leave to enjoy end of year fuck-offery lol
Took a long time and teleworking for a few years to get there.
Still trying to drum up a convincing argument for teleworking with plumbing. There is no path to victory so far lol
I stumbled across an app or website while trying to fix my own plumbing issue where you can video chat with expert and they walk you through your diy. I didn't use it and so I don't remember the website, but it may be a wfh solution for ya! Or at least some extra "idgf money"
See I field a lot of phone calls for friends and family and over 50% of the time it ends with me heading to their house. I could not imagine providing FaceTime assistance to someone out of their element lol
Path to victory lol
I'm 3 years away from that sweet, sweet 8 hrs of annual per pay period. And by then, my little germ-lins will hopefully stop being sick every other week. Oh blessed day when I have use or lose to engage in the December-January fuckoffery!
Fun fact, given the number of employees taking use-or-lose, there aren't very many folks actually at work. Given the limited return to work post-CoVid, the two days I'm in the office now remind me of the pre-telework holiday environment.
Very true
Because you’re honest with your timesheets!
No kidding. I’ll just take my leave throughout the year.
Teacher…… cute. Gov employee
2 days left of work for me too!! Happy holidays!!!! Edit: We get a "gift of time" twice a year. Paid time off. Usually the week of 4th of July and during Christmas/ New years.
Oh yeah all the fucks replenish at midnight on New Year's Eve huh
In my experience, the Federal Employee fucks don't replenish until about mid-January, sometimes as late as January 31st.
Ah I am not a Federal Employee sadly so I have to deal with them earlier lol
This kind of apathy is why corruption flourishes. I always have fucks to give when my tax dollars are used to illegally and personally profit those in power.
It could be or he could've paid for it. None of us know though 🤷🏾♂️ I'm sure driveways are probably the least of our worries as far as misused tax dollars are a concern though, unfortunately
He's paid about 150k right? His house is probably paid for. Dude probably has money for projects like that.
Right. Tax dollars are paying for it either way, so who gives a shit 🤷♂️
If he uses his personal dollars for it then Alabama gets their 5% cut, at least.
By that logic, him buying groceries is a problem. Hell, every government contractor in town technically uses tax dollars to buy literally everything they buy. If he paid for it out of his own wallet, it's fair game. If he paid for use using ALDOT or any other government function (and it was his own driveway and not the road in front of it), then I agree it's a problem. EDIT: Unless you're saying "who gives a shit" in the "who cares how he spend his money" way. In which case, I rescind my snarky comment and replace it with "yeah, I agree"
How are tax dollars paying for it? If you mean that tax dollars pay his salary, they stop being "out tax dollars" once he's paid. If you have a problem with that chain of monetary custody, then you're in for a ride awakening when you find out what people whose salaries are paid by tax revenues buy ...
Um, it’s his personal money if it’s money he earns as an employee. It’s not “tax dollars” if it’s earned income from a job that taxpayers hire him for. Sheesh.
Both his paycheck and allocated city budgets are objectively tax dollars, sheesh. Anyway I think you took my initial comment rather pedantically . It was a joke, but nonetheless accurate.
If you don’t know the difference between somebody’s earned income and the public treasury, I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess you’re neither a business person nor a lawyer, but definitely went through the Alabama public school system.
And I'm going to assume that I hold roughly +50 IQ points on you, considering my last comment defining the context of the original further as a tongue in cheek sarcastic joke, failed to register and you just regurgitated the exact same misunderstanding a second time. I'm a product of the King County School district in Washington State, I've only lived in Huntsville for the last two years out here in Hampton Cove. I hope you didn't bonk your head falling off that limb.
Either Kings County does a terrible job of teaching its students to write satire or you’re just terrible at writing satire. I’m sure 50 IQ points is all ya got.
Yes I must have missed the intro to satire and comedic writing elective in grade school. Pop another weight loss pill and continue to project your own inferiority by insulting people's intelligence unprovoked all over Reddit. You probably work at a Kroger, if you're even employed at all, stealing food and shoveling it down your fat face in the break room--nearly laugh choking to death with a Little Debbie in your mouth calling yet another person on Reddit an idiot. 👌🏼
lol 1. You brought up IQ, not me, Einstein. 2. “You probably work at Kroger …” ??? Seriously? You have something against front line workers doing an honest day’s work? You’re such an arrogant snob that working at Kroger is beneath you? Kroger employees are not as good as you? They’re just lowly losers, unlike your highly accomplished, bad satire-writing self? Clearly you’re such a bored, angry little troll that you have nothing better to do than to fantasize scenarios about what I look like and how I earn my living. In a town full of rocket scientists and engineers ffs. 🤔 Pathetic.
You did in fact infer that they and anyone having came up through the Alabama education system, is stupid. So yes, you were the first one to bring up intelligence in this convo. ----- "I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess you’re neither a business person nor a lawyer, but definitely went through the Alabama public school system. "
Blacktop is a worse (in my opinion at least) driveway material, too.
It is. It's usefulness for roads is that it can be recycled periodically to resurface the road. It is by design supposed to not be a permanent solution.
House has "been for sale for several months."
It's greasy and will be tracked into the house from shoes that walk on it. Terrible material for a driveway.
My sister had her 1/2 mile chirt driveway paved by some workers that were filling potholes on a street nearby in her small town. Her husband saw them patching, and just went up to them and asked how much it would be for their driveway. It turns out that they said if they had any extra asphalt they could give him a good deal that day and it would help them with not having to dispose of the extra. It turns out they only had enough for half, and he took the deal. Then about a month later those same workers had another local project and called and asked if they still needed the rest of the driveway done. They did so the workers came later that day and finished the job. They were originally quoted around 10,000$ by a private company to do it, but only paid these workers about $3000 total for using up their "extra" asphalt and time. Those contractors were hired by the city for pothole fixing, and I'm sure their time and asphalt was ALSO paid for by the city, so the company definitely got some extra money, did not have to dispose of extra asphalt, and my sister got a great deal. Maybe it was that type of arrangement?
I'm calling Matlock, you're sisters going down buster!!
They were repaving the road in front of my father in laws house and they knocked on his door and asked if he wanted them to pave the off street in front of their house with their extra asphalt for free. It was 350ft of free repaving.
I understand more why he is moving...
So he can move somewhere public officials aren’t held accountable?
Because his wife passed away and he may not want to stay in that house?
So he can make changes to his home without some nosy Karen down the street complaining. I suggest you march right up do his door & demand an answer. Or try writing a strongly wordrd letter to the city council. You're doing a lof of assuming in your post.
Elected officials are not to be treated as ordinary people who are afforded common courtesies. They are not to be seen as relatable. They are a means to an end. With all of the benefits, power, and protection that they are allowed, this philosophy is a means of checks and balances. This applies 24/7 and independent of whether you support them or not. If they can’t psychologically handle this, then they shouldn’t be in the position.
OP is still making a lot of assumptions & saying things without any facts to back them up. Unless you know the circumstances under which the driveway was paved, you should mot be making public accustaions. This applies to any citizen, public or private.
He’s suggestively asking (see Tucker Carlson). Public officials should be under a microscope 24/7.
Please point out the assumptions. Everything I typed is fact.
Who owns the home? Has it sold? Was it taken off the market? "This looks like blatant misuse of public funds". How do you know it wasn't paid for with private funds? You are assuming it is a misuse of public funds. One of how many driveways were paved? Have you driven up & down with a certain distance or radius in the neighborhood & noted each driveway? You question in you post whether it's the only one.
“It LOOKS like a blatant misuse of funds” is a fact. Whether it is or not is an assumption that OP did NOT make. He’s posting to bring awareness that someone should perhaps investigate.
I disagree
You can’t disagree with facts.
That is an opinion. FACT.
Thank you. This is the entire point of the post. He’s not just some person or just my neighbor.
Did the street he/you lives on really need paving or does the house show better with fresh asphalt? I'm just asking questions.
It’s actually far worse. It was repaved a few years ago and hsv utilities has butchered it several times since then, including the most recent work.
Hsv Utilities doesn’t pave. 😂
Didnt say they did. Said they butchered the freshly paved road.
No one needs your uninspired questions, Tucker.
Yes, they were already there doing necessary work on the street.
You do realize he could have paid the company to pave it while they were out there, don't you?
Are city workers for hire? Is city equipment for rent?
If it's contractor run like most government projects, then yes. Yes it is.
I used to live in Limestone county and ALDOT had a contractor paving near Capshaw and McCulley Mill road. They swung by and said they had two extra trucks of asphalt that they’d give me at cost because they ordered more that day than they needed if I wanted them to pave over my gravel up to where the concrete driveway started. They also said they’d handle the grading and leveling if we took the asphalt off their hands. It happens a lot and isn’t uncommon. That’s how my grandparents also got their gravel driveway paved.
Are you a public official legally bound by ethical obligations, required to report gifts and contributions, a d legally obligated to avoid conflicts of interest?
It’s neither a gift or a contribution. It’s a service. Paid for with a transaction. But I’m a federal employee. I think the OPM manual says I have to report all gifts over $20. Meaning things I did not give someone else money for.
Services can definitely be gifts. As a federal employee, you should know that. Free massage? Free tax return prep? Free haircut? Free car repair? Free paving of your driveway. Ad infinitum. People give free services as gifts all the time. Merry Christmas.
Was it public works employees? Or was it SJL, Rogers group, etc.
The trucks had the city of Huntsville seal on the doors.
Oh yeah that’ll do it then.
Wouldn't it be great if this was a verified fact instead of a clumsy excuse from someone that is afraid to ruffle feathers?
OP is TRYING TO GET THE FACTS VERIFIED! Wouldn’t it be great if people were allowed to ask questions without being attacked by people who have reading comprehension problems?
Do you have any proof besides other than just hoping he misused public funds because you didn't like the timing?
JFC you don’t need proof to raise a question! OP is simply asking a legitimate question that we all should want answered and isn’t accusing him of anything at this point, simply looking for answers. Why aren’t you?
Google street view shows it has been asphalt all 4 times they've imaged it from 2007 through the last image last fall.
Haha OP won’t respond to this because it defeats their weird narrative of some Uber politically corrupt mayor lmao.
Asphalt-Gate! Lock…Him…Up! lol
Since you're looking for outlets for this concern -- try NextDoor. Your unsupported speculation seems truly suited to that platform. I'm all for holding public officials accountable, but you're building castles in the sky with this one. Good grief.
These are all facts. It objectively looks like misuse. I did try to write it in a non leading way. If you felt led, maybe that’s the facts.
Saying “on the surface it looks like a misuse of funds” is not a fact it’s quite literally the opposite, you’re making an assumption based on what it looks like on the surface and half of the people in the comments disagreeing with you proves that point
I cannot for the life of me figure out how so many in this thread people see this statement as some kind of fact, and not an opinion or assumption. Its a fact the driveway is paved, how it was paid for is speculation/opinion/assumption without some kind of evidence. I really thought this was intuitive and I'm a bit concerned.
I don't think the word facts means what you think it means. The only fact that you have presented is that a road was paved and he now has a blacktop. You have NO facts as to who did the work, who PAID for the work, or if in FACT (as you ASSUME) it was a misuse of funds. Perception matters but it's often short of facts.
You are a moron.
As another redditor said, Google street view shows it has been asphalt all 4 times they've imaged it from 2007 through the last image last fall. So why bring this up now? How long have you lived there?
None of this is fact, unless you mean he got a new driveway. That is a fact. How it's paid for is pure speculation. And you're so not sure about it that you made a new profile just for his driveway alone. You saw a public official doing something pricey and automatically assumed they used public funds. Even you saying that it "objectively looks like...." proved right there that this is not a fact. You're guessing.
I remember when I was a kid my house had an asphalt driveway and it would get re-done if they were ever repaving the road. I assume my parents made a deal with the contractors who were doing the road at the time to hit our driveway also, probably at a nice discount because all the equipment was out there anyway. I'm not saying there's nothing shady going on here but it also could be 100% above board. Considering he's the mayor I guess the money for it is coming from our taxes either way.
Were your parents public officials bound by ethical obligations and required to report gifts and contributions, including in-kind contributions, and also required to abstain from any conflicts of interest?
No, but if he paid out of pocket for the paving, even at a discount because the workers were already out there for the road, then I don't see how this is any kind of ethical violation. It's not like it's something completely out of reach for any homeowner in the city.
Maybe you should look at what the law actually says,
Asphalt driveways are not rhat uncommon, plus there are much easier, lower profile ways to misappropriate public funds/services.
Much cheaper as well.
Wow! You created a new account just to bitch about his driveway?
Omg they really did 😂
Why do you think taxpayers should pay for an elected official’s home improvements?
Where is your proof?
You don’t need proof to make an inquiry. Duh.
There's no proof of this. Google street view also shows it has been asphalt all 4 times they've imaged it from 2007 through the last image last fall. This post is just speculation.
Nobody is claiming there’s proof! They’re asking a friggen wuestion. NOT THE SAME THING. Duh.
There's no proof of this. Google street view also shows it has been asphalt all 4 times they've imaged it from 2007 through the last image last fall. This post is just speculation.
This is like cartoonish gossip where two old "hens" are telling tales while hanging out laundry on the lines. At one point you're speculating, then you're just making $hit up. If you have proof that he screwed someone over or did something dirty, then fine, but obviously this is gossip level nonsense.
Making some wild-ass assumptions, aren't you? Many many years ago when I worked for ALDOT paving crews would run out their hopper at the end of the day in whichever driveway they were closest to. Sometimes the crew would pave driveways for extra cash during lunch. It's cheap because a large piece of the cost of paving a driveway is moving the machinery in. Unless you have proof of impropriety, you're making an ass out of yourself.
Would it be a misuse of funds to pave over tommy battle?
No, but pouring hot asphalt on him most certainly qualifies as "cruel and unusual punishment". Like seriously....when you think about it that's a bit fucked up. I think Tommy Battle is a bit of a cunt, but I wouldn't do something THAT horrid....Jesus.
Oh. Well I guess I slept through the masonry portion of my snarky response writing class. Let’s go with cement shoes, only he’s up to his ankles in his new driveway.
That's more like it =D . It starts like a horrible punishment, and then achieves not only the goal of being poetic justice, but also attains the goal of ultimately being a mundane inconvenience that is resolved with two hours, a sledgehammer and a chisel. However, he would have to be standing there the whole time thinking about his misuse of public funds for his convenience.
no tar and feathering for you, got it
I have heard people getting stuff like that done, the subcontractor for the city may have just charged him material and base labor to do it. Had I had the opportunity to do the same I would and have talked about such things in the county where its still more common. I want a black top driveway. I just have gravel now.
So do you have proof of corruption or are you just going to spread rumors for no reason.
Couple houses in my hood have blacktop driveways, FWIW.
It’s seal coat not asphalt
Which probably means that it's completely unrelated to the actual paving that the city did on his street, where they used real asphalt. OP is a bitchy loon, who misses the fact that the city resources necessary to respond to this nonsense will be the only taxpayer expense incurred.
> I don’t even know if people care We don’t
“Sorry I annoyed you by trying to hold elected officials accountable.”
No, you created an anonymous account to libel an elected official. - edited for spelling
It’s libel. And lol.
Thanks. Still makes you a dick.
I'm usually pretty pedantic about spelling and grammar, but I approve of this sentiment.
Your liable to be held liable for libel.
OP, you are right and not accusing anybody of anything, just asking reasonable questions. The cult mentality here that we can’t question a public official’s actions without inane accusations is the engineered product of Alabama’s intentionally shitty school system, where they just teach groupthink and herd mentality , and heaven forbid you should ever ask a freaking question about a Republican authority figure. I’m glad you asked and understand the spirit in which your question was asked.
We had repaving on our street a few years ago in Harvest and they extra left over and asked if we wanted ours paved. We paid for it. Maybe it's something like that.
Not the same rules as those public officials are bound by.
Who cares? Spreading potential false information without proof is not a good look.
Probably paid them with a good old handshake.
Knock on his door and ask him, not us. You are going to burn up worrying about political things, pun intended. You see what I did there huh huh Sincerely, Pat Magroin
Could you tell if the trucks said Public Works on them?
Nah all I recognized was the city seal on the doors.
no matter who did it he had to get a building permit to do it legally. i always thought it odd that his secretary is a major sponsor of art museum exhibits.
My dad was in a neighborhood where the road was being repaved. He paid the company extra to do his driveway. This could be legit, but if it bothers you, check it out. Ask the company doing the work.
This thread is why I can’t stand to be on NextDoor. It’s too depressing to see what idiots my neighbors are.
If it can be demonstrated that any portion of what he did was misuse of public funds or services, crucify him. But until that can be demonstrated, sounds like it's just a "fuck you, I got mine" wealth-o-phile flaunting his status.
It’s not “wealthy” to pay the county to also pave your driveway. That shit is fairly normal. Yall gotta get out of the basement, I swear.
You aren't keeping up very well. Understandable. Got that ol Fox brain rot kickin
I think he's pointing out that OP is low-key humble-bragging about living in the same neighborhood as the mayor. At least, that's how I took it.
That’s…a good put. I didn’t at first but I could see that now. Thanks for helping me see that side of it!
You gotta learn the law. There are different standards for public officials.
I live out in the county...New Market...older subdivision and a nearby neighbor also just had a driveway paved like that. Paid for I'm sure....its not necessarily tax dollars is all I'm saying.
Teargas Tommy .. never
Let's all get rich and powerful and do whatever we want?
Are you new to America? As a former city worker from a different state, I can promise you, 99.5% of all cities are misusing taxpayers money.
Is there any chance the city subsidizes his home?
developers, same as Spencer
Really
Regardless of the explanation, paving his driveway when there are so many potholes os a bad look
He literally postponed having the street on which he lives repaired, specifically to avoid the "bad look" you describe. Other people live on and traverse that street, and I can personally say it's nice to have it finally get the attention it's needed FOR YEARS.
I totally respect your answers, questions, and feedback; I am one of the (main) people over removing & replacing driveway aprons, sidewalks, and/or curb & gutter where it needs to be removed & replaced prior to paving. We ALWAYS hold our standard integrity closest by. We have continued and survived along the infamous corona virus and look to exclusively serve anyone wanting/needing concrete in their yard or commercial property. If we have done one of your streets and you have had any issues please let me know.
u/ir7525 Please look into this. Thanks.
Here's a thought, go talk to your neighbor. Find out what it took to get the driveway paved.
Is ANY tax money used appropriately any more (better yet, responsibly)?
Tommy seems to be a pretty OK guy. If you want to bitch about anything, bitch about his toddler haircut and the "aw shucks" fake hick act he's been banking on since he was first elected.
Yes, people care. I’m a Conservative & can’t stand him. Where is the money going in this town? Why all of the homeless people all of the sudden everywhere? Why don’t roads ever get fixed when we have tons of people moving here which means more tax revenue?! I could keep going but I’ve made my point.
Wonder if asphalt driveways are mentioned in your HOA's rules?
Not under an HOA
Surprising figured anywhere he'd live would either be under historical society type rules or an HOA, surprised to learn otherwise.
He lives in Blossomwood. No HOA, no historic district.
I mean I print personal documents at work so…same difference. If it was something bigger maybe, but just a driveway on a road they were already working on… whatever. Sure it’s not 200% above board, but not worth causing a stink over.
Not the “same difference” if you’re not working for the government. And it’s not like paving a driveway is cheap.
Really??
Not to mention the personal gain he and his business partners stand to gain from the stupid waste of money that is the "sky bridge".
Hate Jackie Reed passed :-(. She seemed crazy , but called his bull shit and when I researched what she said, dam …. Lady was right
What personal gain is that? The sky bridge is being built using a federal grant. The majority of the project is the greenway and flood mitigation.
And plans to change up the 565 to 431/231 interchange.