The distrust of our current County Council was sown, Mrs. Kinley, not by concerned citizens shining light on the facts, but by the actions of our current Council, like the shady $24 million bond issuance, week-long taxpayer-funded resort vacations for 3-day conferences, taxpayer money in lieu of excessive health insurance, undocumented expenses, free college education for a Council member funded by the citizens!
If the accusations levied against County Council are so untruthful, why haven’t they been addressed by Council beyond simply labeling them “lies and wrong information”? These incumbents have had plenty of time to respond and set straight these accusations if they weren’t factual. But no corrections have been forthcoming, just mudslinging.
Let’s face it. Our Council members have lined their pockets for years while our taxes soared and our services dwindled. They have added perks, reimbursements and benefits to their $15,000 part-time salaries, some of which got up to $49,000 a year! And don’t be fooled, the courts dismissed the improper payments lawsuit against Council members based solely on technicalities, matters of standing, not because Council members were declared innocent! And the S.C. Ethics Commission absolutely did, indeed, find Council members in violation of certain ethics provisions, such as under-reporting their income, and made all but one of them pay up to $500 in fines, verifiable through the Ethics Commission. So who’s telling the truth?
As Mrs. Kinley insisted (in a recent letter to another local newspaper), make sure you do your research and put our County in the right hands when you vote. These folks have had it for 12, 18 and 33 years. It’s time for a change.
Selwyn Pearson Turner
Winnsboro