Tom Jackman: Should PWC supervisors have discretionary funds?

MoonHowler

Tom Jackman of the Washington Post has written an excellent piece on the use of discretionary funds here in Prince William County, entitled:  Should Prince William Board have ‘discretionary funds?’.  If you haven’t yet read it you really should.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/should-prince-william-board-have-discretionary-funds/2011/12/20/gIQAVb0YCP_blog.html

Jackman hit all the highlights and also stated that Prince William County is the only jurisdiction in the area to allow supervisors such unfettered use of taxpayer money.  Residents have been grousing and grumbling about this practice for years. However, that grousing and grumbling became a primal scream when folks discovered that Brentsville Supervisor Wally Covington wanted to ‘give’  his wife’s favorite charity, Rainbow Therapeutic Riding, $100,000 in discretionary funds.

Oddly enough, this item appeared on the agenda, with no fanfare of course, right before the Thanksgiving holiday.  How convenient.  Perhaps he thought no one would be looking.  To his dismay, lots of “William Watchers” were watching.  This blog posted the account late Thanksgiving night.  Our better side said not to do this story on Thanksgiving Day.   After that, the blogosphere lit up  Northern Virginia lights.  That is a huge amount of money, going to a charity that only has 60 or so recipients.  Rainbow Riding is not in his district and it already gets $33,000 from the general fund.

Now citizens are clamoring for the use of discretionary funds to come to a screeching halt. The Committee of 100 will examine the practice at its February meeting.   The use absolutely should be discontinued.  Now is the time to take a closer look at how other jurisdictions handle money left over from general office expenses.  There is simply too much discrepancy in business as usual in Prince William County.

Corey may wish it would go away, but this time I think the residents will have the final say.  Stay tuned.  Elena will be doing a follow up.

PS Corey….remember those invitations to the October 16, 2007  Citizens’ Time?  What fund did those come out of?  Could it have been your ….discretionary funds? [best Church Lady voice]

 

So you wanna be a Super Hero

MoonHowler

Much time and angst was spent during the past week or so over Supervisor Wally Covington’s decision to give Rainbow Riding $100,000 from his discretionary fund and then his decision to cancel his request.  Many Prince William County citizens have sprung into action on blogs, facebook, in email and over the back fence.  Neighbors, friends, colleagues from work  and acquaintances are now talking about county funds and how they should be handled.  Some egotists out there are bragging that they uncovered the problem but that’s just all bragging and self aggrandizing.  The people of Prince William County are the real heroes here. 

Kipp Handly with the News & Messsenger  continues his discussion of how the county spends its cash, especially on non-budgetary items:

In the aftermath of that decision, InsideNoVa.com and the News & Messenger examined the long-standing tradition of county supervisors contributing their magisterial districts funds to area non-profits and athletic and academic teams and found some interesting results.

Through Nov. 22, supervisors have contributed $86,912.90 to area organizations or relief funds from their own district funds in 2011. Potomac Supervisor Maureen S. Caddigan has given the most with $20,170 while Woodbridge Supervisor Frank J. Principi and Supervisor John D. Jenkins have contributed $18,375 and $18,325, respectively.

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A little Holly Acres Push me/Pull me

adultgirl

 

For those of you who don’t know Greg Reynolds, he and his wife frequently appear before the BOCS to attempt to make things right, especially for those who are least able to defend themselves.  He has gone to bat for the elderly, kids and immigrants, just to name a few groups of folks.  He was particularly vocal about getting the transportation to the senior centers back up and running.  He bids us all not to leave our religion at the door of the Supervisors Chambers. 

A correspondence from Greg Reynolds:

The Holly Acres Mobile Home Park story continues to unfold.
 
In the latest development in the Holly Acres Mobile Home Park the homeowners went to get the permits to proceed with the repairs to their damaged homes but the County denied the permits immediately after (and even though) the Board of Zoning Appeals had overturned the Zoning Administrator’s order preventing the repair and replacement of their damaged mobile homes.
 
It would be very helpful if you can attend the Board of Supervisors meeting this Tuesday, 11/29/2011 at 2 PM, to ask the Board members to help restore Holly Acres.
 
These 70 affordable homes do not seem to be a priority for the Board of County Supervisors but they are very important to the families that need permanent affordable housing. 

What’s the job of a blog?

MoonHowler

Since Moonhowlings began questioning how county money was being spent, it seems that the question has come up about the place of blogs in communicating county affairs.  Have we overstepped our boundaries as citizens of Prince William County?  We say resoundingly, NO! 

Understandably, print newspapers are struggling  and often face the wrath of their readers.  How many times does a story evoke the “I am going to cancel my subscription” because of this or that story or editorial?   Even though most of a newspaper’s day to day funding comes from advertising, it does no good to advertise if there are no readers.

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Wally Covington: giving away taxpayer money like it is his own

adultgirl

To whom it may Concern (i.e.  All Prince William County residents and Tax payers):

It has come to our attention that Supervisor Wally Covington, Brentsville District Supervisor, intends to give away $100,000 from his discretionary magisterial funds to the non-profit organization Rainbow Riding.   This resolution is to be voted on at the BOCS meeting on Tuesday, November 29.

Rainbow Riding is a worthwhile organization that provides therapy riding for children with physical and mental disabilities. People are often hesitant to say what they are thinking when questioning process.  Especially when children are involved as beneficiaries.  However, we cannot ignore irregularities when those irregularies  involve public money.

Allow us to be crystal clear:  This is not an issue regarding the credibility of Rainbow Riding or the services that they provide to a very specific population.  Instead, this is an issue about how county funds are spent and the degree of transparency involved in the determination of who will receive these funds.

During the past year, this blog has posted several articles regarding the permitting process or lack thereof for a huge riding arena constructed for the Rainbow Riding facility.  It became clear to citizens that Rainbow Riding was exempt from the regular processes that other residents are required to follow.  For example, the county informed us that this huge building, equipped with seats and bleachers, and bathroom facilities, was classified as a “barn.”  In the Rural Crescent, barns are not required to go through the permitting process.  Then, as now, we dispute the idea that a huge complex riding arena the size of this structure is a barn.  A riding arena is not a barn and a barn is not a riding arena.

From the very beginnings of negotiations with Toll Brothers, somehow Rainbow Riding became an integral part of that process.  How did a small 501C (3) organization become entrenched in negotiations regarding county land use?  The 45 acres that Rainbow Riding sits on is public that excludes the public at large.

Fast forward to the present.   Paying only a pittance for the public land this organization occupies; now the taxpayers will be required to put $100,000 more into a private organization.

Does anyone else find it troublesome that Supervisor Covington’s immediate family members are in leadership roles at Rainbow Riding?  Is there a fair process for the allocation of county funds to non-profits?  Or better yet, is there even a process?  How can citizens  be  assured that favoritism does not come in to play when taxpayer funds are being distributed to various organizations?   Should being an elected official entitle one to take care of family and friends’ favorite charities and organizations?  At what point do we question whether this isn’t nepotism?

 Note:  this article was originally published 11/24/11 in the evening. Thanksgiving night.   I moved it up several days as I felt it was an important story to have out there.  We do that with stories we want to keep active. 

 The time stamps stay behind the scenes and can be used for documentation should the need ever arise. 

 

 

The Silver Lake Scene–the Jewel of PWC? Supervisors! Be good stewards

MoonHowler

I couldn’t stand peace and tranquility so I threw my favorite dog in the car and went on a field trip to Silver Lake.  In the first place, if I didn’t know there was a Silver Lake, I could never find it.  There is no signage until you actually get to Antioch Road and it is a cheap, worn out looking sign.  I know that it is on the same turn off as the winery so I look for the LaGrange sign.  If you drive until you see the Silver Lake sign, you can’t make the turn.  The road pops out from nowhere.   We need adequate signage.

Turning off onto the area where Silver Lake is, you immediately get into rough road territory.  Ok, its a lake.  Nearly all the property going down to the lake is posted–both sides of the road.  If I am a county resident, and I am on county property, why can’t I be there?  Something is being built on the left, between the riding arena and Antioch Road.  What is back in there?  Why can no one tell me?  The area is blocked off and there has been heavy equipment back there a year.  What is being hidden back there?  Again, posted signs.

Onward to Rainbow riding.  They had an open door on the left hand side that looked mighty inviting to vandals.  Again, posted signs so I didn’t dare get out and poke around.  More county property I cannot go on.  The huge field across the gravel road  that had been graded and is now grassed over is also posted. 

The road to Silver lake needs to have the pot holes filled or patches of the road need to be regraded.  Some of them are deep enough to break an axle.  This is an ongoing problem back there.   Fix the road. 

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