Nothing to See Here
During the last several months our county commission meetings have continuously added multiple closed sessions after nearly every commission meeting. These meetings, by law, are for elected officials, appointees and employees. Public not invited. Yet recently a private sector person was allowed to attend a closed session meeting. What??? If one public person can attend, then all citizens should be allowed to attend.
To date no explanation has been forth coming from officials as to why this was allowed, but what I do now know is this was regarding the economic development of a parcel of land owned by the Person County Industrial Industrial Center (PCBIC), a 501-C non-profit funded mostly by the Person County Government.
The arrogance of public officials and appointees in not addressing and responding to public requests for clarification and information is mind boggling. Discovering that our local public officials are not interested, nor did they intend to adhere to state and local zoning regulations and/or permitting laws regarding land development. Did they think the neighbors wouldn’t notice?
Development by itself is not the issue, but the issue is with the audacity with which our public officials attempted to do so, while circumventing the legal processes for doing so and then telling the public “NOTHING TO SEE HERE”. To add more insult to the public frustration we learn that there was a certified economic developer consulting for free on the project. I suspect she would never have known about this project if she had not been a former county employee. And what consultant works for free?
The level of distrust in government is not just against Washington or Raleigh, but it is with local government as well. The distrust and disgust grows by the day and is evidenced by the numerous responses on social media and in newsprint by residents who have become aware of nefarious and shady dealings in local goverment. The sleepy resident giants are waking up and they don’t like what they see. They are tired of the ‘do as I say not as I do’ mentality of those in leadership positions. These leaders have forgotten they are there to serve the public interests and not their own. We need fresh, new leadership at all levels with people who truly understand the meaning of being a true servant.
PJ Gentry
2024-Feb-28