March
8, 2011
THE 3-7-11 BOC MEETING
THE EVER CHANGING AGENDA
Once again the BOC
meeting started off with
Comm. Bernard wanting to change the agenda.
This time he wanted an item put under
Commissioner’s Items by Comm.
Patrick taken off. This item dealt with
this exact issue; not letting her put items on the agenda while all the
men on
the board can add anything they please. It
is bad when citizens can not speak, but this board even denies other
commissioners the right to bring things up.
Comm. Patrick had a few words about it.
Watch the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/gajasper#p/u/4/lKwHH-dtYzA
Many times citizens
come for one item on the
agenda, but it may be deleted, changed or another item added. During the meeting Monday, Executive Session
was called out of the clear blue right in the middle of the meeting. This BOC is so arrogant and they act like
their time is more important than any citizen’s time. They stayed in executive session for over an
hour, probably hoping people would leave rather than wait until the
meeting
started again. (Reminds us of the
Bennett, Crow, Wyatt, Pennamon, and Hill term where people were forced
to wait
outside in the sun until they gave up and left.)
HODGES FARM ROAD AND BULLARD ROAD
The PW director and
the County
Manager
teamed up again and tried to convince the BOC to pay over $40,000 to
the
contractor that worked on these roads.
Listening to the commissioners, these roads must be
in bad shape and
they were just not convinced that any more money should be paid out
until they
were fixed. Comm. Cox especially
questioned the PW director and said that we had already paid for the
percentage
of work done. Why is the PW director so
dead set on paying this money out? If a
good job was not done why should the taxpayers pay out their hard
earned money? Where was the PW director
when these roads
were being done? He said he was
supervising
this work. The board voted 4-1 not
to
pay the extra money to the contractor with Comm. Pennamon voting
against it.
LANDFILL:
OPEN, CLOSED OR WHAT?
According to the PW
director (who is now
also the landfill director) and the County Manager,
the landfill has
problems. The County Manager
said there was a consent order that expired in 2008.
Immediately Comm. Bernard wanted to know if
the landfill director, meaning Ken Tillman, had informed the BOC of
this and if
not he should be counseled and reprimanded.
Watch the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/gajasper#p/u/2/6H0VO4faiDU
Who was on the BOC in
2008 and should have
been aware of what was going on?
Pennamon, Hill, Bernard, and the county manager Greg
Williams, but there
always has to be someone to blame. It’s
the Jasper
County
way!
At least three members
of the BOC do not
want the landfill because it cost money.
The CFO said landfills do not make money. Citizens need to keep a watch on this or
there will not be a landfill and junk will be all over the dirt roads
and in
ditches.
BOC
CHANGES MAY MEETING DATES
Three members of the
BOC, Hill, Bernard, and
Cox, are going to attend an ACCG conference in early May so there will
not be a
meeting the first Monday. What will the
cost be? Is it in the budget?
Does anyone care? Based
on an open records request
concerning “education and
training” for
the BOC, the ACCG conference last year cost the taxpayers around $4000
for
three commissioners. Comm. Hill
stayed
in the Savannah Marriott Riverfront at a cost of $780 for the room.
Last year Comm. Cox
and Comm. Bernard spend close
to $8,000 going to meetings. The total
spent by the BOC for the year was $11,265.03 for “education and
training.” What does this do for the
county? Why is this money being spent when
employees
are having to take furlough days?
