I had a very nice surprise conference call with Hamblen County Commission Chair Stancil Ford and County Mayor David Purkey early this morning.
Stancil initiated the call, but Mayor Purkey was on the line as well.
Stancil said that the two of them had been studying commission operations and the way appointments are made to boards and commissions and they have decided to adopt some suggestions that I have made over the years in order to be more open and citizen-friendly. I listened.
Two of the changes that Stancil and David are proposing are:
1) Stancil said that Committee meetings will begin at 5:00 PM--just like commission meetings--instead of the current 11:30 AM. Stancil said that he had finally realized that having committee meetings at 11:30 AM shuts out the citizens of Hamblen County who want to hear the discussions and have input but have to work for a living. I thanked him.
2) David then said that he was going to propose time or term-limits for people who serve on boards and commissions in Hamblen County.
David said that Stancil and he had finally realized that the same people do not need to be appointed over and over to the same board and do not need to serve on 3-4 boards at the same time. They thought the Commission would go along with their idea. I thanked them.
It was a good conversation and I think they had some other ideas to share with me, but I didn't have time to listen.
In my best Stancil imitation, I banged the phone/gavel down and growled/shouted "Your three minutes are up!"
UPDATE: To all who e-mailed or called to tell me how pleased you are about this change of heart/policy by Stancil and David. Sorry, there hasn't been even the slightest change of heart by either one. It's April 1st and you just got pranked!
Showing posts with label April Fools Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label April Fools Day. Show all posts
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Friday, April 03, 2009
April 3, 2009 My "April 1st" Blog Entry Was a Prank! Mayor David Purkey Still Thinks Taxpayers Shouldn't See the Proposed County Budget Online
I received several calls on April 1 and April 2 from people who had read my April 1 post and were excited to find out that County Mayor David Purkey was actually going to post the proposed county budget on the county website.
They were also pleased that my April 1 post reported that Mayor Purkey had actually decided that they--the citizens and taxpayers of Hamblen County--were smart enough to understand what a proposed budget is and that changes might take place during the budget process.
When I pointed out the date of the post (April 1) and the significance of that date (April Fools' Day pranks), one of them laughed and added that she definitely got pranked. Until we talked, she actually thought David Purkey had had a change of heart, had come out in the open, and had decided that the taxpayers pay enough to be able at least to see the proposed county budget online.
I had fun writing the April Fools' Day post, but, no, David doesn't want you to see the proposed budget, and yes, he still thinks little old taxpayers would just be "confused" by the big old budget and budget changes.
David, like 99% of politicians, just wants you to dutifully pay those sales taxes, pay those property taxes, pay those wheel taxes, pay those business taxes, pay those litigation taxes, and on and on and on.
Now that April 1st is over, I'll put a note at the end of that post to let everyone know that nothing has changed in County Mayor David Purkey's Office---
David still does NOT want taxpayers to see the county's proposed budget on the Hamblen County website.
David still thinks taxpayers couldn't possibly understand or handle seeing changes to the proposed budget during the budget process. They would be "confused."
David is still afraid of "someone sitting in a law office somewhere."
And I don't have a clue as to what David's assistant Amber Shelton does for David with those extra FIVE hours per month that she said she has to assist him.
The only thing that is clear at this point is that David will NOT ask her to use those hours to serve the public and post the proposed county budget on the county website.
They were also pleased that my April 1 post reported that Mayor Purkey had actually decided that they--the citizens and taxpayers of Hamblen County--were smart enough to understand what a proposed budget is and that changes might take place during the budget process.
When I pointed out the date of the post (April 1) and the significance of that date (April Fools' Day pranks), one of them laughed and added that she definitely got pranked. Until we talked, she actually thought David Purkey had had a change of heart, had come out in the open, and had decided that the taxpayers pay enough to be able at least to see the proposed county budget online.
I had fun writing the April Fools' Day post, but, no, David doesn't want you to see the proposed budget, and yes, he still thinks little old taxpayers would just be "confused" by the big old budget and budget changes.
David, like 99% of politicians, just wants you to dutifully pay those sales taxes, pay those property taxes, pay those wheel taxes, pay those business taxes, pay those litigation taxes, and on and on and on.
Now that April 1st is over, I'll put a note at the end of that post to let everyone know that nothing has changed in County Mayor David Purkey's Office---
David still does NOT want taxpayers to see the county's proposed budget on the Hamblen County website.
David still thinks taxpayers couldn't possibly understand or handle seeing changes to the proposed budget during the budget process. They would be "confused."
David is still afraid of "someone sitting in a law office somewhere."
And I don't have a clue as to what David's assistant Amber Shelton does for David with those extra FIVE hours per month that she said she has to assist him.
The only thing that is clear at this point is that David will NOT ask her to use those hours to serve the public and post the proposed county budget on the county website.
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