A tough job that many covet. Why?
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." --Greek philosopher Plato ( 428-348 B.C.)
It kinda reminds me of the rhetorical battles within our Stafford County Board of Supervisors--but, “by your inferiors?” Maybe so in a few instances of recent memory. But there’s one thing they all are definitely not inferior about.
It’s their superior tolerance of and patience with board meetings and hearings that drag on and on. I’d say they earn their money and then some.
As for the rest of us who aren’t engaged enough to stand in line and personally say our piece on any scheduled subject in the board chambers, we absentees do have the luxury of recording the more contentious meetings. They are carried live most Tuesday evenings over Comcast channel 23 and Cox on 24.
Thus, in 2008 when that contentious hearing on adopting a special new tax on businesses here (BPOL for short) commenced, I had known that great numbers of citizens were slated to voice their opinions (mostly against it). So I decided to stay home and watch them on TV.
But I got my fill before midnight and decided to record the rest of the proceedings for later viewing. Good thing, for that exhausting de-facto circus, which ended with supervisors openly scrapping, lasted until about 3:30 AM.
Worse, although the board majority finally voted in favor of the tax, it didn’t settle anything. Since it isn’t scheduled to begin taking effect until next year, there’s time for a newly elected board next month to rescind the tax even before it starts, depending of course on who wins contested seats.
Another marathon board session, this September, involved approving or refusing the application of the SPCA dog and cat folks to establish a non-kill facility in the county. This one died mercifully about midnight.
Which reminds me of other endless meetings years ago by Aquia Harbour’s boards of directors. They got so sick of them that, when another chairman was elected they voted to end all meetings by midnight. Voila! The lesson is that the presiding officer has the duty to move the meetings along. Change the county guard (please!) and things should get better.
The SPCA’s midnight miracle last month came about thanks to an astute supervisor. You may recall that most folks speaking earlier in the meeting favored the project, to be centered at the former nursing home property off Andrew Chapel Road. However, it seemed the weight of supervisor sentiments favored rejection, since the nearby owners of very upscale homes in Meadowbrook Estates were so much against it.
Finally, things were reaching an impasse. Supervisor Paul Milde, in whose district the SPCA facility was proposed, stayed passionate for approval. Even though the facility’s applicant, Bill Hoyt, had made erudite and heartfelt presentations, they didn’t seem to sway the majority.
Then Supervisor Cord Sterling of the Rock Hill district proposed a compromise. Not even Milde liked it at first. But his proposal was (1) that the existing facilities of the nursing home structure be allowed to develop as SPCA intended, but no expansion on site, and (2) that the county search for more appropriate land on which a larger enterprise could be established in addition to the original site.
His idea, plus an emotional agreement to the compromise by applicant Hoyt, carried the day. Four supervisors approved this foot-in-the-door deal and only Chairman Schwartz and Supervisor Woodson opposed.
That last half-hour of the deliberations was riveting, the reverse of the BPOL issue’s embarrassing dogfight that involved erroneous votes and re-votes.
So the beat goes on in Stafford. No wonder that piddling questions like the recently discovered extra $5 million in the county treasure drew so many yawns.
It kinda reminds me of the rhetorical battles within our Stafford County Board of Supervisors--but, “by your inferiors?” Maybe so in a few instances of recent memory. But there’s one thing they all are definitely not inferior about.
It’s their superior tolerance of and patience with board meetings and hearings that drag on and on. I’d say they earn their money and then some.
As for the rest of us who aren’t engaged enough to stand in line and personally say our piece on any scheduled subject in the board chambers, we absentees do have the luxury of recording the more contentious meetings. They are carried live most Tuesday evenings over Comcast channel 23 and Cox on 24.
Thus, in 2008 when that contentious hearing on adopting a special new tax on businesses here (BPOL for short) commenced, I had known that great numbers of citizens were slated to voice their opinions (mostly against it). So I decided to stay home and watch them on TV.
But I got my fill before midnight and decided to record the rest of the proceedings for later viewing. Good thing, for that exhausting de-facto circus, which ended with supervisors openly scrapping, lasted until about 3:30 AM.
Worse, although the board majority finally voted in favor of the tax, it didn’t settle anything. Since it isn’t scheduled to begin taking effect until next year, there’s time for a newly elected board next month to rescind the tax even before it starts, depending of course on who wins contested seats.
Another marathon board session, this September, involved approving or refusing the application of the SPCA dog and cat folks to establish a non-kill facility in the county. This one died mercifully about midnight.
Which reminds me of other endless meetings years ago by Aquia Harbour’s boards of directors. They got so sick of them that, when another chairman was elected they voted to end all meetings by midnight. Voila! The lesson is that the presiding officer has the duty to move the meetings along. Change the county guard (please!) and things should get better.
The SPCA’s midnight miracle last month came about thanks to an astute supervisor. You may recall that most folks speaking earlier in the meeting favored the project, to be centered at the former nursing home property off Andrew Chapel Road. However, it seemed the weight of supervisor sentiments favored rejection, since the nearby owners of very upscale homes in Meadowbrook Estates were so much against it.
Finally, things were reaching an impasse. Supervisor Paul Milde, in whose district the SPCA facility was proposed, stayed passionate for approval. Even though the facility’s applicant, Bill Hoyt, had made erudite and heartfelt presentations, they didn’t seem to sway the majority.
Then Supervisor Cord Sterling of the Rock Hill district proposed a compromise. Not even Milde liked it at first. But his proposal was (1) that the existing facilities of the nursing home structure be allowed to develop as SPCA intended, but no expansion on site, and (2) that the county search for more appropriate land on which a larger enterprise could be established in addition to the original site.
His idea, plus an emotional agreement to the compromise by applicant Hoyt, carried the day. Four supervisors approved this foot-in-the-door deal and only Chairman Schwartz and Supervisor Woodson opposed.
That last half-hour of the deliberations was riveting, the reverse of the BPOL issue’s embarrassing dogfight that involved erroneous votes and re-votes.
So the beat goes on in Stafford. No wonder that piddling questions like the recently discovered extra $5 million in the county treasure drew so many yawns.
posted by Ben Blankenship at
9:24 AM
