SUPERVISORS' VEHICLES NOT COVERED BY RULES
03 January 2001 12:11:25 PM
PERHAPS, "WE THE TAXPAYERS &
VOTERS," SHOULD
BEGIN A INITIATIVE PETITION FOR HARRISON COUNTY
TO LET THE VOTERS DECIDE IF OUR TAX DOLLARS
SHOULD PAY FOR ANY GOVERNMENT VEHICLES.
SELL ALL OF THE GOVERNMENT VEHICLES IF THE
VOTERS DECIDE NOT TO SPEND THERE TAX MONEY
ON PURCHASING GOVERNMENT VEHICLES.
Harrison County Supervisor unanimously approved a policy Tuesday on the take-home use of government vehicles. But the policy they passed was watered down from a strict version drafted in November, after a newspaper article on county vehicles use angered some taxpayers.
The Harrison County Supervisors believe the taxpayers and voters have forgotten about the government vehicles issue. The policy which the county supervisors approved is nothing but a policy to serve them.
Remember Elected Officials only serve themselves first, they believe we the taxpayers and voters work for them. This article is a very good example of how our supervisors ensure they are not bound by the policy they themselves wrote and approved.
MONEY, POWER, & PERKS: This is the creed of elected officials.
A prevision that world require employees to be called out on after-hours emergencies at least 32 times a year to qualify for a take-home car or truck was stripped form the final draft. A provision that would require employees to be on call when they take a county vehicle home also was deleted.
Is 32 times enough, is 55 times better, or if a government vehicle needs to be checked out, let that person go to the yard and check out the vehicle.
This way, a record will be made and can be followed up if necessary.
Elected supervisors also failed to add a provision that would require then to abide by the police.
Our elected supervisors do not need a tax paid government vehicles. They ran for office theoretically to serve the people of Harrison County, but its only a theory.
The new policy will require that two times a year, the county administrator and road manager will produce a list of all employees taking vehicles home. The list, which will be available to the public, will include written documentation explaining why each employee needs an auto around the clock.
What will the list tell the taxpayers, and since the county administrator and road manager will be producing the report how true will it be.
Since the county supervisors say they are not county employees, who is going to produce a list to the public for there actions?
MONEY, POWER, & PERKS
In November, the Board of Supervisors stripped 26 employees of their take-home car privileges and promised better management.
That was in November, but since the policy has been changed, I wonder how many of the 26 employees have been reinstated for take-home vehicles?
The county had a tough time tracking down who had take-home vehicles when the Sun Herald requested the information for an October article. The county had no policy on who receives take-home car privileges.
The Harrison County taxpayers have been purchasing government vehicles since 1970. Here it is 2001, and if you believe their were no records kept on each vehicles, I will submit there were records kept.
Each vehicles has to have preventive maintenance on a schedule basis. I wonder where these records are and why are they not provided to the public.
County supervisors -- and some taxpayers -- said they were surprised to learn that at least 75 non-police and non-fire employees were driving vehicles home and receiving free gasoline. Bo one was monitoring how the cars were being used, and a few county officials admitted running an occasional personal errand in their county cars.
"Surprised to learn, " does this sound like a political response. Since the tax paid Harrison County Supervisors were elected to serve the Harrison County voters and taxpayers. I submit they have violated there reason for being a Harrison County Supervisors.
Initiative: It is the only way to correct the wrong doing of these supervisors -- put it to a vote.
In November, Supervisor Bobby Eleuterius said he expected the policy would be changed to specify that elected supervisors also had to abide by the rules.
"Expected," does this mean it will be changed or maybe it will not be changed. These elected officials have not followed the rules so far, what makes you think they will change now.
Tuesday, he said he didn't remember saying that.
Their is one thing about an elected official, when all else fails, have a memory lost.
"We already have a higher standard with our vehicles use -- the State Auditor's Office," Eleuterius said, "We talked about whether we were included because it says all county employees. But technically, we are not county employees. we're state employees."
"State Auditor's" who are these state auditors --
Feel free to email these State Auditors and request under the, "Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983," copies of the higher standards on vehicles use.
After the supervisors approved the policy, Board President Larry Benefield was asked who had deleted the stricter requirements. He said he did not know, so he asked County Administrator Pam Ulrich.
If the Harrison County Board President does not know who deleted the stricter requirements, why is he the Board President.
But the Board President did the political thing, he passed it on to someone else which would not know the answer.
"I don't know who made the changes," Ulrich said. "That's the way it came back to us."
Pam Ulrich does not have a clue who changed the policy. The Harrison County Supervisors held meeting to discuss the new policy, they drafted the policy, made changes after more meeting, and passed a watered down policy. They, the supervisors, know who made the change, how could they not know.
MONEY, POWER, & PERKS
It was finally determined that Vandy Mitchell, county personnel director, had deleted the provisions on monitoring how many times employees are called out after hours.
Who and how did Vandy Mitchell make a change to a policy implemented by the county supervisors. The county supervisors must think we the voters and taxpayers are the most stupid people in the world.
The county personnel director cannot make such a change until the county supervisors meet, discuss, and approve any change to a policy.
"We found that to be too much record-keeping." Mitchell told Benefield.
I would like to see a copy of the detail report on how much record-keeping is too much record-keeping. This is such a bogus statement.
The policy also doesn't address the type of vehicles the county buys or their fuel efficiency.
This makes since, county supervisors are spoiled and will not give up there tax paid vehicles. Why should they care what a vehicles cost, you the taxpayers are paying for them.
Taxpayers also supply gasoline to the dozens of county workers driving government autos. But Supervisor Connie Rockco proposed Tuesday that a separate policy be drafted to address these issues. The board unanimously voted to draft such a policy.
I find it humorous at how elected officials all ways seem to avoid issues. If these vehicles are government vehicles, paid for and owned by the taxpayers, fuel would have to be paid for by the taxpayers. So why does Supervisor Connie Rockco believe a separate policy will change what the taxpayers are doing now.
BOGUS: fake, counterfeit, phony, trick, sham
"I think we should consider the price of what we buy and fuel efficiency, as long as it doesn't compromise performance of the duties of the jobs," said Rockco, who drives a county-owned 2000 Ford Expedition.
Does Supervisor Rockco need a 2000 Ford Expedition vehicle to perform her job as a supervisor?
In additions to Rockco, two other elected supervisors, Benefield and Eleuterius, drive late-model sport-utility vehicles. Supervisor Marlin Ladner and William Martin drive Ford Crown Victoria cars.
I believe we the taxpayers should vote on this issue of purchasing government owned vehicles. Why should the voter and taxpayers provide a vehicle to any elected official.
I am sure all of the supervisors ran on the platform of cutting spending and saving taxes. This is why I will be running for Harrison County Supervisor for District 3. Marlin Ladner lied to me before he was elected and he lied to me after he was elected. Remember his secretary that was driving a government owned vehicle home. When asked, he changed his store 3 times on this issue. He said his secretary went to part time work and has gone back to school. I would like to know if she is still working part time and in school now.
I will email Marlin Ladner, (harcobos@ametro.net) and ask this question. But I will not hold my breath on an answer.
STEVEN A. McCALEB
COMMENTARY