by Elissa Yount
The State Treasurer’s office runs the Local Government Commission (LGC).
This commission monitors and analyzes the fiscal and accounting practices of local governments. Thus, they monitor the financial practices of Henderson.
The LGC should be the most insulated arm of our government. They should be insulated from conflicts of interest. They should be insulated from special interests. They should be insulated from politics. They should be insulated from even any appearance of a conflict because they are such an influential and powerful commission.
My intention was to write to Janet Cowell, the State Treasurer, about my concerns over Embassy Square. My question was: Does the Local Government Commission still expect the City of Henderson to be paid back the $1.8 million? My concern is that the city needs a definitive answer on this so that the budget for Henderson will be sound. The last correspondence that I saw from the LGC said that they expected this money to come back to the city. This was to be the gist of my letter.
I have decided to wait until after June 30, 2009 to write to the Janet Cowell. Why? Because the State Treasurer web site lists John Zollicoffer as a member of the Local Government Commission and that is the day his term expires. According to the web site, he was appointed on March 25, 2008 by the President Pro-Tem of the State Senate. That would be Marc Basnight. It does not list Mr. Zollicoffer’s occupation and neither does it reference that he is the attorney for the City of Henderson.
Now, as a general rule, it might be advantageous for a local elected person to serve on this commission. But when a city needs a comeuppance about their inability to handle finances by failure to follow directions from the LGC and depleting the fund balance… Questions arise. Just how stern will the LGC be with Henderson when an employee, the city attorney, sits on their commission? How firm can they be with the Embassy Foundation when, according to the Secretary of State, one of the Embassy’s original incorporating members sits on their commission? How firm can they be in making Henderson follow sound LGC policy when the city attorney who advises the City Council sits on the commission that oversees that financial policy?
Does this pass the “smell test” for you? Deep and wide, deep and wide, there is influence in this city that is deep and wide and, unfortunately, it is not the influence of the poor taxpayer. Seems like we have been down this road before.
Let me apologize in advance to Mr. Zollicoffer if the State Treasurer’s web site is incorrect. It was revised April 30, 2009. And if you want to contact the State Treasurer, who works for you, her e-mail is janet.cowell@nctreasurer.com.