Use of the term "The Troubles" has been used in Northern Ireland to describe political unrest. It covers a period when extreme views escalated to polarization of an entire community. Political rhetoric and a lack of willingness to compromise rose to a point of government gridlock. Citizens lost confidence in their government. Elections were based on extremist platforms. Shouting and violence became the norm. Individual rights and respect were set aside. The rule of law could no longer be counted on. Some people considered this period of conflict a war.
Sound familiar?
War might be a little extreme to describe Jefferson's current condition. The other descriptors are definitely in play. The past ten years have been hard on this community. Pitting people and groups against each other through baseless information and personal attacks has become the norm. Public debate has been shifted from issues and opinions to deamonization of individuals. The political process has been shifted from a consensus review to voting block agendas carried out by elected officials. Campaign promises of "open government" have been drowned out by motions for "executive session". Public policy is now more likely to be discussed and written in private meetings.
The most recent example involves a simple employee evaluation. It is the county's top administrator but still simply an annual evaluation. Certain public officials have taken this opportunity to strengthen their political advantage. A group of county commissioners are in the process of terminating the administrator. This is being done through private meetings, hiring of outside lawyers and unfounded claims. Anyone who dares to even witness the public portion of this action is publicly deamonized.
So what's the problem?
Some locally elected officials seem to believe their powers are unlimited. They believe using public funds, a bully pulpit, attacking private businesses and defaming individuals for their own personal agenda is acceptable. They trade in fear instead of respect. So what is the agenda of these elected officials? How will this termination of a 20 year career public servant benefit the public? They have never said.
Something is terribly wrong when residents and private businesses feel intimidated by local government. Requesting that local government lead by respect and the rule of law should not be something controlled by fear of reprisal. "The Troubles" have arrived...
Fred
On August 13, 2009 the county commission was getting ready to address agenda item 10. Department Head Employee Evaluation. This week, the position being reviewed was county administrator. Forty seconds into the item it happened...
We need to go back in time at this point. The date is November 9, 2006. The CC was being addressed by Ms. Birnbach. She is the management consultant hired by the CC. The draft management study and recommendations were complete. The statement from CC minutes of that meeting end her appointment with "Ms Birnbach also recommended that the commission consider hiring a Human Resources Manager." I reviewed the webcast of that meeting. Her recommendation was more than to consider. It was several minutes of reasoning for the importance and urgency of taking that action.
Now it's April 19, 2007. The CC has an agenda item before the body. Hire Human Resources Director Discussion and also set a date of July 1, 2007. Commissioner surkamp opens the item with a motion. That motion was to advertise for and hire a Human Resources Director July 1, 2007. It was clear during the discussion following the motion that the new HR position had been approved and funded in the 07-08 county budget. This was simply the act of advertising that position.
June 14, 2007. CC minutes read IN RE: Human Resources Director Work Session to Review Applicants. Again I went to the webcast for more information. It was stated that there had been sixty-nine (69) applications to date. The CC created a committee as a whole to review the applications and reduce the number to 10.
I have no idea what happened to the HR manager hiring process after that.
(Returning to the August 13, 2009 meeting) Forty seconds into the the item it happened. A motion by commissioner Widmyer to hire Dave Hammer as counsel for the commission on the employee review of the county administrator. It was almost instantly seconded by commissioner surkamp. After 8 or 9 minutes of discussion, the final motion and vote was approved on a split 3-2 vote. Who voted for what and the political intrigue is not my issue in this message. The way public employees are treated is the real issue here.
This latest event simply highlights a continuing need. The most contentious issues that have been taking up county time and money for the past months or years has involved government employees. Pay equity, salaries, health benefits, management structure, department interaction and the simple lack of a place to go for information. Employees shouldn't have to be in constant fear of the next political whim of some elected official. It is time for the CC to do the right thing. Hire an HR director.
Fred
August 9, 2009
Our community will be asked to vote on two significant items in the coming months. These issues are important because they will have lasting impact on every resident in some way.
The first special referendum is scheduled for November 7, 2009. The question will be what type of zoning this county will use in the future. WV Code section 8A-7-13 covers the way the vote will be conducted. It will be a simple "yes" or "no" vote on a single question. It has been determined by consensus that we currently have a "non traditional" zoning ordinance. The county commission and planning commission have recommended a "traditional" zoning ordinance to update our current regulations. Enactment of that new ordinance will be adopted or rejected based on popular vote.
The second special referendum is requested for December 5, 2009. The single question will be "Shall West Virginia Lottery table games be permitted at Charles Town Races & Slots?" The process is identified in WV Code section 29-22C-7.
I will be doing some "zoning 101" reports in the coming weeks. There will also be some comment related to the Table Games vote. It is important for residents to have enough basic information to draw their own conclusion on these topics. There is no plan to advocate one way or the other by manipulating information. There are plenty of advocates that will take care of that. When I'm giving my personal opinion one way or the other it will be straightforward.
My purpose in this article is not to advocate or educate one way or the other on these two ballot issues. It is simply to make everyone aware of how important these voting opportunities are to the future of Jefferson County. Quality of life, Economic Development, Quality of Services, Land Value, Taxes, Infrastructure, and Local Governments will be directly affected by both of these votes. It is up to the residents to determine the net benefit of their "yes" or "no" vote. Every person in this county has a stake in the outcome. Every person eligible should vote. Again, every person eligible should vote. These items are exceptional. The result of these single issue "yes" or "no" votes will have long lasting consequences. I want to close with a quote from the movie "All the King's Men". It was spoken by "Willie Stark" (Sean Penn). The context was to impress on the general public that government, public policy and consideration are influenced by those that choose to vote.
............. "If you don't vote, you don't matter"
Fred