The following opinions are pertaining to the Fairfield County election. I hope you had the time to watch our beloved Fairfield County Council meetings and have made the same observations as I did.
Recently, the county spent thousands of our tax dollars on a county wide “Employee Survey.” Its purpose was to enlighten the administration on the low morale of the county’s employees. Some have left their positions and others are considering leaving. They are unhappy in their jobs! Well, apparently the results were in months ago, but the county administrator will not release the findings.
Mr. Gilbert asked for the results he was told that the results would be shared in a “private meeting”. Maybe after the election we will find out the results. Very suspicious!
By now almost everyone knows that I have a problem with 58 ex-employees who worked during the Pandemic in 2021, but were overlooked for financial compensation from the ARP funds. Not long after that, county gave the volunteer poll workers $200 each for their work on Election Day. (I agree that this was well deserved). The problem is that the money was taken out of the general fund (our taxes) and checks were written by the administrator at the direction of Mr. Bell. Very suspicious!
Last spring, all department heads were told to cut their annual expenses by 10%. Mr. Pauley recommended that, to be fair, the council should also take a cut. I thought Mr. Bell was going to go ballistic over this suggestion, so of course it was shot down. Now, all of a sudden we have found one million dollars in surplus money available. There will be raises all around right before the election. Where was that money last spring? Very suspicious!
The county administrator has recently announced that county employees are not allowed to talk to the media or to council members without first checking with his office.
What is next?
Joe Novaro -The Forgotten 58
Winnsboro