Board should bow to the people, not the people to the board

Just who in the world, or to be more specific, Lincoln County, does the board of commissioners think it’s fooling?
After nearly a month of stonewalling the public, it finally released the minutes and memo from its May 16 meeting. Nothing in the copy of two memorandums this newspaper received indicates any reason whatsoever why it should have taken so long for the release of such documents, which the public is entitled to possess under the Freedom of Information Act.
Nothing.
Let’s review.
In a memorandum from county attorney Jeff Taylor to the board dated May 16, Taylor provided an update of major items he stated had been worked upon since having reported to the board the previous month. Those included:
· Courthouse security
· New hanger construction at airport
· Tax issues
· New Charlotte Area Transit Authority (CATS) contract for East Lincoln Express
· Hof Textile incentive grants
· Proposed transfer of Home Health
· Xxxxxxxxx building

Of Home Health, Taylor stated he would address some of those issues in a separate memo; the last one, the name of the building has been blacked out. A building is “personnel?”
Speaking of “personnel,” the second memo, which focused solely upon the Home Health issue, contains nothing whatsoever about personnel issues. Wasn’t that the excuse given why immediate release of the requested documents could not be honored?
The board of commissioners had better realize a few things.
First of all, this is the United States of America, not some medieval European country of yore. That means you are elected officials, not members of the House of Lords.
In other words, this is the 21st century, not the middle ages, where royalty ruled over peons and serfs.
The behavior of this board of late has been one of “lording” it over its citizenry, so here’s a word of advice:
Get off your high horses before the people of this county knock you off and you get trampled in the aftermath.
Understand?
P.S. to commissioner Marie Moore and her insistence upon dollar signs: Mark Twain said it best: “There are lies. There are damn lies. And then there are statistics.”
It’s all fine and well that you wish to hold the line on spending. Who doesn’t? But sometimes you have to place people first.
In the Talmud, the collection of writings that constitute Jewish civil and religious law, it is written that justice without mercy is no justice at all.
Your stance on the Home Health issue has been without heart. Where is the justice in denying so vital a service our aged and infirm so desperately need?
So we leave you with this: As young and as healthy as you are, our senior citizens who depend upon Home Health once were. As they currently are, may you never grow to be, because by then there may no longer be Home Health.
Oh, and one last thing. The cover letter, which was included with the two memorandums sent to LTN reporter Alice Smith, was dated May 31, but none of this arrived until June 7. We’ve heard of snail mail, but this begs the issue!
by Steve Steiner