I’ve been busy, trying to wrap my head around the concept of County Council hiring, as a consultant, the former interim County Administrator. I mean no disrespect to Milton Pope. I wasn’t a fan, but neither was I a detractor. No, it’s the concept I find befuddling! Why?
Did our new County Administrator ask Council to provide this particular type of help? I’m told that No, he did not; but that’s not a known fact, it’s just what I’ve heard on the streets. To be honest, I have yet to meet Mr. Taylor. I’m thinking that if he had, it should have been obvious to Council that our new Administrator was not qualified from the jump, which doesn’t exactly give me much confidence in our Council.
So, I asked my Councilman, Mr. Billy Smith, how he voted on the issue of retaining Mr. Pope’s services. He tells me that Council did not vote, and further, Council Chairperson Carolyn Robinson would not allow for open discussion of the issue.
Isn’t this the same Carolyn Robinson that asserted just a few weeks ago that “I’m so sick of you trying to usurp and understand the rules, when you don’t understand the rules.”? Didn’t she also go on to say “I’m not going to go into it. Everything I try to do is by the rules. Basically what people don’t like is that I know the rules.” (Quoted from The Independent Voice of Blythewood and Fairfield County, Thursday Sept. 22, 2016, page 15).
Well, I’m not convinced; I do not believe the rules were followed in making a contract for consultant services. I do not think Carolyn Robinson follows the rules; in fact I’m extremely dubious about her assertion that she knows the rules. She clearly didn’t follow them in the article quoted, and neither did she follow the rules in this instance.
So, what is to be done? Following Robert’s rules, if I were on that Council (thankfully for most of us, I’m not) I would use my “council time” to make a motion that we bring the subject up for discussion and a vote. This would require a second of course, and then Council could undertake their sworn duty to faithfully serve their constituencies by fully airing this issue. This might not comport to Carolyn Robinson’s understanding of the rules, but it would comply with Robert’s Rules of Order (see Robert’s rules of Order section #4 Motions and Resolutions).
Bob Carrison
Winnsboro
Well put Mr. Carrison. To add fuel to the fire -I recently attended a Council Committee meeting with Parker Poe which epitomized the BLANTANT conflict of interest shenanigans which has been SOP in our government for many years. Amazingly, Parker Poe Principal and Fairfield consultant Pope atrended this meeting which was about the county awarding a contract (without bids) to Porsche main employer , Parker Poe.THIS WAS JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY COUNCIL CONFLICT OF INTEREST THOUGH. Of course we should not be surprised eventually Parker Poe was awarded the contract without other bids. Just a reminder-we allowed Pope to maintain his aforementioned dual loyalties since the day he was hired as Administrator.
That’s “Pope’s” not “Porsche” main employer.
That’s “Pope’s” not “Porsche” before “main employer”. Both are very expensive .