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County Commissioners Think Taxpayers are Like Mushrooms ~ Best when Kept in the Dark and Fed Manure

9/23/2009 ~ Getting answers to questions and access to public records shouldn't be difficult but, in Franklin County, it can be tougher and take longer than digging a trench with a spoon.

Some of our readers may recall that I brought some very troubling issues to the attention of the County Commissioners during a public meeting back in April of 2009. The concerns raised included potential violations of state statutes regarding open records and statutes regarding use of public funds for political or partisan activities. For those interested in learning more about the specific statutes mentioned in those comments, check out (by clicking the statute numbers that follow) NC GS Sub-Sections 132-1.11, 132-6, 132-6.1, 132-6.2, 132-9, and 153A-99. You can read the full text of my comments from that evening by clicking here.

Another issue which I have repeatedly raised to commissioners during their meetings is the need for a Town Hall metting where county residents can ask questions, make comments, and generally carry on an informal dialogue with county commissioners on any topics of interest to FC taxpayers without being timed by Darnell Batton's beloved stopwatch.

Months have gone by without any responses to these questions and requests so, on August 24th, I sent an e-mail to County Manager Angela Harris to formally request written responses to these concerns from the Board of Commissioners. Ms. Harris responded by telling me that it would take some time to comply but that she would do so and get back to me as soon as possible. By September 16, I had become quite frustrated as my calls and e-mails to Ms. Harris weren't being answered, so I sent another e-mail to her asking for status and I copied that e-mail (along with the original 8/24 letter) to area newspapers.

I finally received a response from Ms. Harris on September 21, nearly a month after my request for formal responses was received by her and just over five months after my concerns over EDC actions were publicly voiced to the Commissioners. I found the response to be laughable and embarassing in it's vagueness - but I'll leave that for readers to determine for themselves by reading the entire e-mail & attachments.

The evening I received the response was also the evening of the regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners. I made public comments to the Board of Commissioners about the entire affair during that meeting and that story was picked up and covered by the Franklin Times. I encourage readers to check out the Times take on the issue on both the front and editorial pages.

Hopefully, readers will remember both this article and the coverage given to this story in The Franklin Times when elections roll around. We deserve better from our elected officials and the only way to get the needed change is to clean house and elect a new Board of Commissioners. That's the only way we'll ever be able to clear out the hangers on that have cushy county jobs scattered throughout the county's payroll. A better Franklin County MUST start with a better Board of Commissioners!