**UPDATE** The Sheriff indicates there will probably not be a vote on conflict of interest. I guess its ok to ignore the people. More indelible horse manure will stick to more boots.
**UPDATE 2** Sheriff thinks there will be a second but it will get voted down.
Click to here to get to the agenda
Today is the much awaited BOCS meeting where carry over funds are decided and where Pete Candland’s Conflict of Interest Resolution is supposed to be codified. County attorney Horan, many think at the direction of Chairman Corey Stewart, has advised that his Resolution would violate the law. Many citizens are crying FOUL over this suggestion.
Conflict of interest discussions have dominated the county landscape ever since Supervisor Wally Covington attempted to slide $100k to Rainbow riding where his wife served in a leadership capacity until very recently. Even though Covington pulled back his request after the blogosphere went wild over his audacity, it was like he had stepped in indelible horse manure and he simply has not been able to get it off his boots. The horsey stuff has also wafted over to the other supervisors and it has been behind most of the discussion about conflict of interest.
In fairness to Mr. Covington, he isn’t the sole reason but he created a situation everyone could wrap their minds around. Following the money and who gave what campaign contribution to whom and when is difficult for most of us. Most of us would rather let people get away with it than have to think about it and follow the paper trail. It truly is the work cut out for numbers wonks and not for the common man. That horse-doo changed the scenery and Covington provided us with a stage we could all understand and verbalize.
Kipp Hanley with News & Messenger summarized the Candland Resolution:
Fresh off the success of his resolution eliminating discretionary funds, Gainesville Supervisor Pete Candland is proposing a resolution that would extend the county’s conflict of interest policy to the voting of the individual supervisors.
If passed, supervisors will have to recuse themselves from votes that involve entities where they or immediate family members have a personal interest. This applies to supervisors or family members who serve as an officer or on an advisory committee of that group.
The exception to the rule would be supervisors who are appointed by their fellow board members to another board for official county representation. However, all votes that involve such an organization — for example, the Virginia Railway Express — would require that supervisor to file a written statement “why no conflicts of interest exist for the specific action being proposed for a vote by the Board of County Supervisors.”
The policy would also require the county to publish the individual’s personal interest disclosure statements on its website “to allow the public to easily navigate to the location of and to easily review these documents for each supervisor or chairman.”
Hopefully, the Supervisors will do the right thing and vote on the Resolution rather than using weasel words to get out of an up and down vote.
Also on today’s agenda will be the discussion about what to do with the millions of dollars “extra.” Somehow the press has gotten the idea that all the blog people want a refund for the taxpayers. I don’t want my money back. I want my money spent wisely and not to be buried somewhere so it can go to a superviso’rs pet project like Rainbow Riding who now stands to get around $200,000 instead of $100,000. I don’t want to help get Corey Stewart elected to Lt. Governor via some tricky dick accounting. I don’t want extra money given away so that favors are somehow owed. I realize the Grizzlies get a big pay back for Avendale but I don’t like it. There are many unfinished projects and long range goals that can be started or finished with extra money. What about that Catharpin Park that lost its financing? Let’s be honest, Ed Wilbourn tried to get that park up and running over a decade ago., Still we talk about it.
Silver Lake might as well be bull dozed over. The supervisors have ruined it. In the first place, it took 5 years to adjudicate who would even own it and what would be done with it. It was compromised from the beginning when Rainbow was allowed at the negotiating table. I still get the impression they think it is theirs rather than belonging to the people of Prince William County. Marty and Mike May tried to legislate a layer of protection around it but they were voted down. Politics as usual. They got called RINOs for their efforts.
The only upgrades that have been done at the lake were done by Dominion Power employees that I am aware of. Building a middle school right on top of the lake removed any chance of the lake being for passive recreation. Silver Lake is an example of bad stewardship. The county couldn’t let Bull Run Conservancy have it. They insisted on keeping it only to let it fall into neglect. it is the land time forgot. You can’t even drive back to the picnic area. Hats off to Pete Candland and his staff for attempting to turn this project around.
All of these things are quality of life issues. How about upgrading the electronic book situation at the libraries? Do some county beautification. Plant some trees in median strips. Wild flowers and bulbs can turn a median strip into a place of beauty. Nothing upgrades a neighborhood, especially an older neighborhood like some decorative trees or shrubs. Don’t send me a check. Finish the Catharpin Park, repair some potholes, cut the grass out of the street cracks, improve the county in some way. Cheap isn’t better. You get what you pay for. If we want to attract new people to the county who will bring in business, then make it look like something rather than someone’s redheaded stepchild. Upgrade the accounting systems in the county government. Come in to the 21st century. Pay for an analysis to make the county on top of things rather than 30 years behind.
I don’t live in low income housing. I would say I am about in average range. I don’t pay that much in taxes. I have sent 3.5 kids through the school system over the years. (don’t ask….its complicated about the half kid) At 3.5 times 10k times 13 years, that is a lot of bucks. That’s almost a half million dollars in per pupil spending. I doubt if I have paid that much in real estate taxes to cover all those kids–not even close. I don’ t want it back. Honest!!!! I resent being characterized as a cheap skate. If I am portrayed as a leftie, at least don’t make me a cheap leftie.
Why doesn’t Corey just start working on rebuilding his law practice now, and hand over the Chairman’s gavel to Pete? There’s no way he gets the Republican nomination for LG after all of this idiocy and blatant corruption, and making himself a laughing stock among Republicans state-wide. There’s no way he gets elected dog-catcher in Prince William.
My apologies to all of the hard-working dog catchers out there, but that’s how the phrase goes. I’ve always appreciated the hard work done by animal control people and don’t know how that phrase got started. I’m sure there are many dog-catchers in our county who would do a far better job on the board than most of the people we’ve got now.
Moon,
I love this line you wrote “the land that time forgot”, perfect. It IS a shame that BRMC did not get stewardship over Silver Lake. They were willing to pony up half a million dollars immediately to get the Park in order. Now look at it, one could believe a landfill resides behind those gates. I agree, it might as well be handed over to Rainbow Riding, they are the ones getting county investment to run their organization. We could have had over 500 acres had BRMC been respected enough to partner with PWC. We, as a county, spit on their outstretched hand and I guess this what we deserve in return, a Park, three years later, that has gone unchanged in capitol improvemnts.
YAY! A refund!! I’m going to stimulate the economy by taking that refund check and putting it in the kids 529..
To my good friend Moon-Howler:
Although but a small point, I hasten to point out that The Sheriff believes there will be a vote on the Candland Conflict-of-Interest motion, it just will get voted down now that Chairman Stewart has prevailed on Ms. Horan to completely trash the legal foundation for the motion.
A word comes to The Sheriff’s most humble mind: Shameless.
The Sheriff
@marinm
And meanwhile the grass grows up in the street around you, your kids can’t go to the library, and their general surroundings just look cheap, unless you keep them in your gated community.
Don’t be cheap.
@The Sheriff of Nottingham
Sorry Sheriff, I must have surmised wrong from your writings this morning. I am not sure he can get a second on that motion now. I guess it depends on the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Sorry, that is a crock of crap. Of course it isn’t illegal to vote on something you should be recusing yourself on.
How is your health these days since there is a bounty on your…errr….parts?
I amnot sure who wants to have it on their record that they voted against a no conflict of resolution resolution.
Why don’t they tweak whatever it is that Ms. Horans feels is the problem, or have her suggest it, since we are paying big bucks for her legal services, fix the problem and vote on it.
If your washing machines breaks, you don’t just not wash your clothers. You fix the machines.
Please tell me that the game for today isn’t going to be Stupid is as Stupid does.
@Moon-howler
It’s important the resolution gets a second so they have to vote on it. Mike May, are you listening? We’re depending on you to be the second voice of reason and integrity today.
I wonder if we’ll see their usual sleaze games. They need four votes to kill it, so that means that three vote with Pete in favor. Just watch, just watch. Stewart votes with Candland, May and one other declaring the need for ethical reform that he will carry to Richmond, and the resolution still dies. If anything like that happens, this will be parody fodder for ages to come.
Mr. Toad, you are exactly right. A second is needed and an up or down vote needs to be taken. I don’t know of too many supervisors who really want to vote against banning conflict of interest. That doesn’t go well at election time and I am just enough of an S.O.B. to remember and use it.
As a friend of mine says, it isn’t smart to pick fights with people who buy ink by the barrel. (he knows who he is)
@Moon-howler
It’s not about being cheap its wanting limited government that is a good steward of our taxpayer dollars and is transparent on who/what it is we spend money on.
I understand that I have an obligation to pay taxes. As part of that ‘social contract’ the monies I provide should also be spent wisely. When an excess is confiscated from me it seems reasonable that the excess be returned. I’ve always said that any refund check issued by the County should include within it an appology from the BOCS.
The reason there is excess is because of bad accounting practices. I don’t want it back. I want it spent right. I don’t want projects pulled for retaliation and I don’t want extra money being swept under the rug until they think we aren’t looking and given to someone’s pet project which in turn will attract campaign funds to get someone elected.
I don’t think we are far apart on this one, marin. I probably would put seeds out in the median and you wouldn’t.
Those should be handled through the normal budget process, not as a flip the coin–let me see, heads RR, tails, grass cutting.
I don’t disagree, Clinton. I am giving marin a hard time because he doesn’t think government should be involved in stuff like that. I tell him he is cheap.
All the action should be late in the afternoon at this BOCS meeting. Again, it is probably the intent that we all get bored (or in my case fall asleep), stop watching, and the BOCS can slip whatever outrageous behavior by they want to slip by.
We should probably take turns watching so we can all spring in to action when carry over begins. Pete’s resolution is almost last on the agenda before the dinner party.
Moon, this gets us to the Obama “you didn’t build that” statement also. I support fully paying taxes for roads, schools, etc. Even if you accept Obama’s later spin that “that” refers to infrastructure rather than the entrepreneur’s business, he still misses the point by a long-shot.
Having adequate public infrastructure is a necessary but not sufficient condition for creating wealth and jobs. I take the rational, middle ground on all of this. In the current PWC debate, I’m all in favor of paying taxes to spend a reasonable amount on public infrastructure, whether from the carryover or normal budget process. It’s necessary for me to be able to operate my business and for my family to have a good life. I oppose the crap the PWC BOCS throws in for their cronies and friends. That’s wasted money that could be used for tax cuts, raises for teachers, etc., etc. We could name a plethora of uses better than Rainbow Riding, or paying a compliant County Executive more than the Governor of Virginia, or members of Congress earn, or building developer roads. This is a long list so I’ll stop there and assume everyone gets the point.
Regarding Obama, again he misses the point completely. The existence of the infrastructure is important, agreed, but not what created the business or the jobs. Risk-taking, hard work, good ideas, and on and on are what created the business and built the wealth. Obama doesn’t understand this key point. In Obama’s world, he enjoys a magnificent meal prepared for him and Michelle by one of the world’s greatest chefs then credits only the stove. The chef “didn’t cook that.” In reality, the stove was necessary, but not what created the meal he and Michelle enjoyed.
Let’s not look at this from either the perspective of a local board of supervisors that is riddled with conflicts of interest and cronyism, or a president who doesn’t understand how wealth and jobs are created.
Let’s support paying our reasonable share of taxes to create the public infrastructure needed for our economy to function and our kids to be educated, but no more, and certainly no crony spending. Let’s not be Barack Obama or Corey Stewart.
Obama really has nothing to do with this. You are an opponent so you are going to read into it what you want. I would really prefer to stay away from the election at this point.
For the record, he meant no man is an island and we all take from other sources, even when we do great things. Most of us don’t get there totally on our own. What difference does it make what either Romney or Obama say in the heat of campaign and how does campaign babble fest affect what we are trying to accomplish in PWC?
It doesn’t. As far as local matters go, we are all better off sticking together in our common goals than throwing up divisive comments that are irrelevant anyway. All politics are local and if we can agree on the basics at home, why be an obstructionist by bringing up that which doesn’t unite us in a common goal?
There is just too much obstuctionist talk going on and that is the reason we can never accomplish anything and another reason that politicians like El Jefe get in office and scalp us for his own self gratification.
Think, NTK..think!!! Corey would love to see us getting off track over Romney or Obama. Then no one is watching him pull the rug out from under Candland. Then the Powers that Be can keep slipping OUR money to special interest groups who in turn create functions that give huge cash amounts to reelect politicians who have self interest, not community interest.
@Moon-howler
“Corey would love to see us getting off track over Romney or Obama. Then no one is watching him pull the rug out from under Candland. Then the Powers that Be can keep slipping OUR money to special interest groups who in turn create functions that give huge cash amounts to reelect politicians who have self interest, not community interest.”
Ok, you’re right Moon. I don’t retract my comments, but place them in abeyance for further discussion later.
I probably won’t discuss the presidential election. People have their ideologies already lined up. I am not going to change and you aren’t going to change. Why even bother. I am one of those who looks to the Supreme Court. The appointments are critical to the values I support. In fact, I will confess to turning off the TV or changing the channel if either Obama or Romney come on and start bleating out that champaign bs.
I will continue to vote for reproductive rights because I have a daughter and granddaughters who don’t want men making laws that take away their reproductive choices and I will vote to protect my assets and all future retirement money. Other than that,….I am not too concerned. I have survived some real meathead presdients.
sound-bite journalism and campaigning – the 24 hour news spin cycle at work.
Just to make sure we’re all on the same page – of the $26M in carryover, $13.5M is the Fire Volunteer Levy and $7M is for continuation of techology contracts….
I hope this is fulfilling the obligation to the promises made after Kyle Wilson lost his life.
But, my answer is actually closer to Clinton’s in that I said I wanted transparency.
If we need to spend money on something I want to know what it is, why were doing it and how beneficial it is to me (the taxpayer not as me the individual). Is it our only option? Can we make do with what we have? Did we explore alternatives? Budgets aren’t supposed to be easy but its a process so that you know that something has been vetted and that the community as a whole can see why we spent money on something.
Levy collections….
I don’t disagree with what you just said, Marin. I just keep reading all these people who want their money back. Over at the Sheriff someone accused me of being a newcomer to the county which I find funny. These are usually the people who want to operate on the cheap. Cheap isn’t better.
The transparency really hasn’t been there for PWC. Let the meeting begin…..
I guess any Jews, Muslims or atheists are SOL today since Christian prayers were offered up.
That is just so unnecessary. How about a moment of silence so ALL citizens are included. Non believers or non-observant people or those who don’t want to pray at the moment can make up their grocery list in their head.
Marin just spoke of giving govt power. I don’t want to turn my religion over to them for even 2 minutes. Yet I just did….even though Mr. Howler yelled at the dogs over top of it because they wer emisbehaving. Too bad the Reverend Holliday didn’t pray for the Howler family to have better behaved dogs.
Corey is right about the Police Department. THE most professional.
Oh dear God!!!
Will they stop? Please stop, Debbi, just stop.
Use your own money!
Forest Park had a grant.
Opportunites for people with disabilities – the woman making a pitch for Rainbow Riding? Aren’t ALL of our public parks and recreational facilities ADA-compliant and open to everyone? Don’t hear her mentioning that only 114 people use RR. She’s talking about mental health and counseling services. We have public resources for that. Why do we need to duplicate at RR?
I don’t mind that the original money they get annually. I do mind the huge sum. Go back to $33,000.
Then I won’t have a problem. They want to big of a slice of the pie.
NTK, didn’t you say they had about $800,000 of theeir own money? Spend it!
big kitty, little kitty. The military should be giving them a grant if they are servicing vets. We as a county can’t afford to pay for everything that makes us feel good.
My feelings have nothing to do with their cause. My problem is that 100 people can’t have that big of a piece of the pie., Funds should come from private sources, not the taxpayers.
Michael High was right on the money!! He ran for Gainesville supervisor when that whole pack of Republicans ran last summer.
Good job, Michael!!!
@Moon-howler
I have heard that number. Everyone knows I’m a big fan of reading Form 990s (exciting weekends at my place!) RR has about $600 or $700 thousand in the bank from sellling their old facility and pocketing the funds while moving onto taxpayer-owned land for free. They have plenty of money to pay for all of this themselves. Let them use their own money. I agree that we need recreational facilites accessbile to all, which we have. Remember that George Bush senior gave us ADA to ensure this. He didn’t intend, I don’t think, a small group to use disabilities to get taxpayer money for a small group of people to the exclusion of the vast majority of taxpayers – those with and without disabilities.
@Moon-howler
I expected flames to shoot from Corey’s nostrils after Michael spoke, but I guess he learned his lesson about abusing people at Citizens Time.
Nohe’s wife is way off the mark. Candland’s resolution would not bar her from volunteering with any organization (thank you, Ms. Nohe, for your service). The resolution targets supervisors and family members in board and officer positions with these organizations where conflicts of interest could occur.
Oh Ms. Nohe. I have been very decent to your husband. Angry doesn’t really become you.
No one is asking anyone to stop serving. We are asking some supervisors to take every precaution against what appears to be conflict of interest. If you aren’t doing it, you have nothing to worry about.
I have one issue and I don’t think there is a single person who doesn’t know what it is…
Don’t confuse ALL bloggers with each other. I do support the Candland resolution. Let’s talk about it rather than shoot it down. I might actually change my mind but I don’t like things being buried.
@Need to Know
How do we know that flames didn’t shoot from his nostrils? I couldn’t see him.
Michael High did a nice job. He didn’t seem angry, he was direct and emotionally neutral.
Just tuned in and heard the audience clapping and one supervisor from the dias applaud. What’s goin’ on? I guess the rules have changed once again, clapping is ok when it suits the needs of those on the BoS.
Oh, nice they are trottin’ out the kiddos. more clapping. Could we go down there and clap too? I think everyone knows how we feel about things.
@Need to Know
If one supervisor doens’t vote because of conflict of interest, well…so what. Won’t other supervisors vote?
Triple A rating has been reapproved. Go AAA. Thanks Chris Martino.
@Moon-howler
Don’t get me started about ratings agencies. Read the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s report. http://fcic.law.stanford.edu/
Marty, please shut up. You have no idea of what you speak. Steve Solomon did a good job of responding politely.
Now Peacor is giving financial advice. Please let Steve Solomon do the talking here.
“Culture of savings and efficiency????” Is Casiato kidding?
Efficiency? Not according to many county employees.
Moon said..Oh Ms. Nohe. I have been very decent to your husband. Angry doesn’t really become you.
You and your blog have been more than fair to them and have stepped in on numerous occassions to defend them. Meanwhile, every other blog was bashing them. Way to say thank you, NOT!
So let me get this straight…park authority is going in and putting in bathrooms, heating and air conditioning and paving the parking lot?
Lafayette, thanks for recognizing and acknowleging that.
Yes, that poor kiddo whined it gets cold in there. Most barns(true definition) are cold during the winter, because they are NOT climate controlled. To call that building a barn is ridiculous!!
Lafayette, you bring up an excellent point. Elena was told that there were no permits issued because it was a BARN. This is back when we were trying to figure out what the hell was going in out there.
BARNs are cold in winter. Hot in summer. It is either not a barn or it is a barn. Let’s let the RRC adhere to regular country rules. When people get a continual pass on following the rules, it makes for angry people.
From start to finish, this organization just hasn’t done things correctly and in the way the collects support. Way to be your own worst enemy, Check everyone’s boots for indelible horse manure.
Hello, Melissa. Foot traffic is a hell of lot different from soccer teams and families coming in their neighborhoods’ HOA common area.
What about ADA compliant parking for those wishing to enjoy the actual lake and picnic???
GO Peter!!
@Lafayette
You are screwed if you are disabled and need to use REAL Silver Lake. You cannot access the lake at all if you are in a wheel chair. You are not allowed to drive up to the picnic area past the bathrooms.
There are no ramps so you could possibly get a wheel chair to one of the tables in the lower area. It would be difficult at the upper lot.
So, the lake that services EVERYONE, no ADA access.
No trash cans either. (just call me Mr. Wills or Mr. Crone)
How about Crone-Wills?
RIP Mr. Crone.
This lady is right about the trash. Especially if they choose to NOT put trash recepticles at the park, like Silver Lake.