Roy Exum
After the Hamilton County Commission shamed its elected office at the close of last week’s meeting, the biggest question in town was when do the six who scoffed at the public and voted for a controversial $100,000 discretionary fund dare run for office again. The answer – May of 2018. The discretionary fund, solely seen as a political tool to curry favor or buy votes, had been omitted from the county’s 2016 budget by Mayor Jim Coppinger.
But in a planned, last-second vote that smacks of backroom cronyism, a marked lack of transparency, and no regard to the overwhelming number of county citizens who yearn for sound government, six of the nine commissioners raided the “rainy-day fund” in nothing more than a way to buy votes, favoritism and “pay back,” which you’ll find in the dictionary under “principles, a lack of.”
Apparently led by Commission Chairman Jim Fields, five others including Sabrena Smedley, Chester Bankston, Warren Mackey, Randy Fairbanks and Tim Boyd showed they are unfit for office – placing personal agendas ahead of the common good – and County Mayor Jim Coppinger took it as a slap in the face.
He called it “totally irresponsible,” which again you can find in the dictionary under “principles, a lack of.”
Three commissioners who voted again the measure were Greg Beck, Marty Haynes and Joe Graham, who has been the most vocal about saving the county’s animal shelter. Mayor Coppinger used his first veto in four years in an attempt to counter the disappointing actions by the six commissioners.
Apparently Coppinger’s quest for responsible government and conservative spending means little to the majority of the commissioners. Coppinger also said of the blatant plot, “They just reached out and took it. (See ‘principles, a lack of’) This should cause concern to every citizen of the county.”
The reason Coppinger eliminated the discretionary fund from the 2016 budget is because “everybody knows it is wrong. No where else in the state does such an abuse of taxpayer money take place so openly. If a commissioner sees a need, he or she should present it to the entire commission. That is the way this works.”
With the $900,000 not part of the 2016 budget, the county’s financial team was able to assure a raise for county employees and completely fulfill the urgent request from the county’s Humane Educational Society.
Knoxville gives its commissioners a $5,000 discretionary fund but, in honesty, all of the money should be for all of the taxpayers. The Chattanooga Times-Free Press, its editors sharply critical of the greed, published a page-one picture of a sculpture at the intersection of Bass and East Brainerd Road in its Tuesday editions that was purchased at a commissioner’s whim with taxpayer money.
The abomination is a clear example of the ridiculous mismanagement of individual commissioner’s spending. If the entire commission were to vote to buy such a piece of frivolity, it would surely fail because only the artist benefits from such nonsense. Please, it does not enhance the quality of life or the burdens of mankind one iota. Today’s needs in the county are far more critical.
Here’s hoping the Hamilton County Commission, as a group, will do the right thing and put the money back where it can be used in very-real emergencies. Those who voted against the last-second ploy last week should refuse to take the money if it becomes available, asking that it be left in the regular fund so that all of Hamilton County’s taxpayers can benefit from its use.
That is the right way for county government to operate. To swipe funds from the “rainy day fund” is the wrong way.
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At a Faith and Freedom Conference in Washington last weekend, presidential candidate Ben Carson told a fun story:
“I remember a few years back I was engaged in a debate in Hollywood with a leading atheist. This guy thinks anybody who believes in God is a total moron. As we got to the end of the conversation, you know, he is denigrating anybody who could believe in creation, I said, 'You know what? You win.'”
Then Carson delightfully added, “I believe I came from God, and you believe you came from a monkey. And you’ve convinced me you’re right.”
royexum@aol.com