I am appalled and amazed by last week’s news that the chairmen of our school board and our board of commissioners had not paid some of their property taxes on time. What are these guys thinking?
Is it arrogance or lack of attention to detail? Poor management of personal finances or simply making the decision to maximize their use of their money by not paying until they were forced to — in this case by becoming the subject of newspaper scrutiny?
We have to wonder, what these, and all the other public officials who are “forced” to step down when similar transgressions are discovered, are thinking?
It seems pretty obvious to me that when you run for, win, and are sworn into public office, you’ve invited a closer look at your life. You’ve agreed to live by a higher set of standards, at least for the term of the office.
We expect public officials to behave as if those ethics codes they have adopted mean something. When they raised their right hand and took the oath of office, they were agreeing to serve our community to the best of their ability. Most of our officials work hard and do the best they can at that.
But in the context of our appreciation for all that they do, it seems fair to expect the chairman of the school board to stay current on his property taxes — after all, aren’t schools supported primarily by property taxes?
Same for our commission chairman. Penalties or not, he agreed to pay his taxes by the due date when he agreed to accept the office of chairman of the county board of commissioners. How can he be the driving force behind cutting county employees wages and in good conscience wait for the penalty deadline (or whatever he was doing) to pay his taxes?
Let’s face it, our mind-set has changed. Our lives have changed. Many of us are out of work. Our hours and/or pay are being cut. We are losing our homes. Yet our politicians are behaving as everything’s the same as it’s always been.
I’m supposed to tolerate that they can’t even pay property taxes on time?
Nope, that’s no longer acceptable.
Our politicians and board members need to understand there is a level of anger, rage and intolerance that hard times foster. People who are struggling don’t have much patience and they judge harshly.
We have expectations and they’re not being met. We feel desperate, worried and sad. We elected these people to serve and be of some help. We are looking to them for leadership. The last election clearly communicated, on the national and local level, we need a change!
Instead, we get more of the same. Yet another set of folks who think they don’t have to play by the rules the rest of us have to live by.
So please, anyone in power out there who is hoping to push the ethics boundaries, accept that you do live in a glass house and you are being held to a higher standard.
If that sounds like too much to handle, then just step down. After all, tough times call for tough measures.
Lorin Sinn-Clark is a columnist for the Barrow Journal. She can be reached at lorin@barrowjournal.com.
"Our politicians and board members need to understand there is a level of anger, rage and intolerance that hard times foster. People who are struggling don’t have much patience and they judge harshly."
Wow lOrIn that sums it up pretty well, this column should really help create a positive vibe in our little 'ole hick town! .........
Actually, it sounds like what should never have needed to be said at all. Elected "officials" shouldn't NEED to be told that not only DO the rules apply to them, but that they ARE expected to behave as a good example for everyone else.
It doesn't sound like whiny sore-loserdom to me. Good sense is good sense regardless of what you think of the person saying it. I don't know this woman from Adam's house cat, but I DO know that our PUBLIC SERVANTS need to remember that they WORK for the PUBLIC, we don't work for THEM. And they should start acting like it.
Getting elected doesn't make them God, it doesn't make them King, and it doesn't make them better than everyone else. They should wake up and realize that they are held to a higher expectation and that they are supposed to do the right thing for the people that they represent.
With the current mood of things, they may find themselves facing some very unpleasant futures if they don't get their acts together FAST. I think the good old "general public" has just about had enough of self-centered egotist getting themselves elected with false promises, and when people get angry enough, radical things happen. It might not be a bad idea if some of our glorious elected officials realize that its time to straighten up and do the right things for the right reasons before they find that they've waited too late and have to pay the price for it.
Put that in your whiney pipe and smoke it.
The school board chairman should resign immediately, even if he was shamed into paying them when the paper exposed him.
While the BOC chaiman's situation is somewhat different, he should also be ashamed for his actions.
When lacking a real argument anonymous11:20, go ad hominem. Look it up.