There has been
much talk about Comm. Bernard having his telephone bill paid for.
The TWG was tired of hearing about it and wanted to find out if it
was true or not.
Here’s what the
open records request we made revealed.
Request
date—3/11/05—January phone bill—dedicated line, voice/fax--$26.24
Request
date—3/11/05—February phone bill—dedicated line, voice/fax--$26.27
Request
date—6/13/05—month not listed—phone bill—no description--$26.35
Request
date—7/1/05—copy of 6/1/05 phone bill for Jack Bernard—dedicated
line--$26.32
Request
date—8/1/05—July phone bill-- dedicated line, voice/fax--$26.25
Request
date—11/9/05—October phone bill-- dedicated line, voice/fax--$26.23
All of these
requests were signed by Jack Bernard.
Based on our
findings as well as what the Monticello News has reported, this
phone bill was reimbursed to Chairman Bernard per his requests until
county manager, Greg Williams, put a stop to it and asked for
repayment to the County. On 12/21/05, Chairman Bernard
reimbursed the County $210.33 (which was for 8 months of
phone/fax line reimbursements). These are the FACTS. We will put
one of these requests up on the website. If you’d like to see all
of them, go by the County office and ask to see the file.
We’re happy that
Comm. Bernard has repaid these bills. The amounts are small and
insignificant. What is significant is the fact that Comm.
Bernard has continued to tell us how badly the county needs money,
but he felt that $26 a month to pay for a phone line in his home was
necessary. It’s this type of pettiness that causes more trouble for
politicians than the big issues. . It’s this type of thing that
causes the public not to trust the politicians! Let’s see now, what
did that Code of Ethics Comm. Bernard signed say?
Actively promote
public confidence in county government. Maintain a positive image
to pass constant public scrutiny.
This type of
activity doesn’t do that!
