Today is the signature American holiday, celebrating the date in 1776 when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Ours was the first successful colonial independence movement against a European power. Recognition of our nationhood came with the Peace Treaty of 1783. From sea to shining sea, there will be parades, concerts, barbecues, and, of course, fireworks. Among the famous celebrations is the Boston Pops fireworks spectacular, featuring Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.” Right around 1812, the median age of the U.S. population of 7.2 million was around 16. Now, today’s population is over 321 million. The median age is the highest in history at 37 and a half years. Profile America is in its 19th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
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William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and John Penn would turn a wary eye toward our county commissioners’ planned actions during Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting.
On Monday July 6th two hundred thirty-nine years after William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and John Penn had signed the Declaration of Independence the public can witness our commissioners use a old form of tyrannical rule.
First, the Chair has advanced the regular meeting’s start time by 30 minutes to allow for a closed door session on an economic development matter. If a closed door topic requires a vote in the open meeting, the Chair will obtain a consensus vote before returning to open session. Second, four public hearings are scheduled in the open meeting segment. Second the Chair has scheduled four public hearings, two of which are new to the commissioners, new as in presented in the closed session before the open session of the scheduled July meeting. The two new topics include one for approval of a county funded grant and the other one for approval of a county funded loan both benefiting the same unnamed company and a property owner. It is difficult for the public to be informed sufficiently to make a knowledgeable public comment when the facts have not been vetted publically and the commissioners’ have already voted their approval in a closed session.
Examples of the commissioners’ economic development successes are few especially when matched to the hyped job and tax increases that did not happen. The Chair has the authority and a history of withholding scheduled public hearings until the public is better informed through the commissioners’ committee system. Withholding the public hearing until the public is informed would be respected by William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and John Penn in 1776.
Take a minute this weekend and look at page 46 of the commissioners’ agenda packet for the official pubic details about the grant and the interest free loan to an unnamed property owner and company.
Mikey…is eddie wright still collecting taxpayer $$$ to be on the council? According to reports he hasn’t been at very many(if any) meetings over the past couple months. Is that the same as getting paid for a job and never showing up to do said job? Could it be that after a certain amount of absences that a commissioner gets relieved of their duty? The honorable thing to do if you aren’t able to attend meetings,etc. would be to resign and let someone who is more capable of being involved in the process to take over. Oh……my mistake…..did I said “HONORABLE”? That would make too much sense for Vance County’s elected officials. At least in Granville County the commissioners do attend meetings.
As far as being “in the dark” on this latest issue…..do you expect anything different from this governing body? Really? When will the citizens of Vance County get more people in elected offices that are truly doing it b/c they want to help the county and their fellow citizens? Sooner or later the voters of Vance County will get tired of paying a commissioners salary when the commissioner isn’t able to perform the duties………tick….tick….tick….time is running out on the handouts!!!
Did you know that Thomas Jefferson & John Adams both died on July 4th? Two great men!! If only people had honor and were as noble these days!!!
R.I.P. Mr. Jefferson & Mr. Adams!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA!!!
Thanks for pointing out the most recent “trust us, we’re in charge, we know what we’re doing, we know what’s best for you” commission moment.
First, they’ve decided to risk our money at the incentive grant roulette wheel. Vance County is every economic development casino’s perfect customer. Our batting average in these endeavors is bush league. We are zero for the new millennium. Our leaders outbid several other counties for a company that purposefully played patsy county against patsy county to find the most desperate. We wear the Tier 1 designation like a badge of honor. It is not! It is a sign of failure.
Second, they decided to loan our money at no interest to a local company and landlord for expansion. The company was probably going to expand anyway, but out leaders, in their infinite wisdom, invited them to belly up to the no interest loan bar and have a tall one at our expense. If the expansion plan makes solid financial sense, a bank would loan the money. Why are we loaning them money? Did banks and loan sharks turn them down? I wonder if our leaders, intent on loaning our money at no interest, have invested their own money in these companies. I doubt it!
History has not been very kind to our studious, far sighted commissioners and economic development experts, who brought us business winners Paint Reclamation International and Semprius, to name but a couple.
Regarding the public hearings Monday night, all of the preliminary work on these two project has been done in complete secrecy in closed door meetings. Keeping secrets from us can only mean two things. The secret is so horrible that they dare not tell it and/or we’re too stupid to understand it. They do indeed think we’re too stupid to understand, as their comments have indicated the past several months as citizens question the county water disaster. And, if history is any indication, the secret is probably not too savory and will most likely not work out as planned.
The least they could do is publicly release all the documents regarding these two economic development matters, give us time to do our due diligence, and then ask us what we think. That would make sense if they care what we think. Formally asking us to comment on their closely kept secret is either the highlight of lunacy, extreme incompetence, or evidence of their contempt and disdain for taxpayers.
Find out if they care what we think. Call the County Manager Robert Murphy at 738-2001, the Commission Chairman Archie Taylor at 438-7819/432-9366, the County Commissioners at 738-2003, and the EDC Director Stuart Litvin at 492-2094. Request the documents. Don’t settle for lame assurances. We’ve settled for failure long enough.
I misstated…
The incentive grant is being offered to a non-local company and a local property owner.
The no-interest loan is being offered to a local company.
Sorry for the error.