LOOKS LIKE THEY'LL NEVER LEARN

With the SC Supreme Court's ruling against them still ringing in their ears, for printing a known lie that defamed an innocent person, the Post & Courier just may have stepped into it, again. Note from GE&P: If you happen to hold any stock in the insurance company that carries the P&C's liability coverage, we would advise selling short ASAP.

On 7/19/10, the P&C ran a front page story titled "Months pass as minutes stand still". Accompanying this headline was a picture of Councilman Dennis Fish and Councilman Bob Call. Alongside the photos was a quote from Councilman Call, repeating a false accusation against Mr. Fish. Prior to the release of the article, Mr. Fish informed the P&C that the accusation was false and reminded the reporter that the official recording of the meeting in question does not contain the alleged statement in Call's accusation. According to Mr. Fish (and GE&P) the reporter admitted he had listened to the recording and didn't hear any such statement. Mr. Fish explained to the reporter and to GE&P exactly what he had said. Mr. Fish insists he was speaking to Mr. Call and not to Mr. Schurlknight. But, the alleged statement was repeated in the article all the same.

As usual, GE&P thinks it beneficial to provide you with some history. This issue finds its roots in late 2009. At that time, several members of Council (the Conservatives) sought information as to how hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, realized from the Accommodations Tax, were being spent by the Chamber of Commerce. Their inquiries were met with a solid brick wall. These Councilmen decided to meet the problem head-on. In January, 2010, they nominated five new members for the Accommodations Tax Board. Please realize these nominations were to fill vacant seats.

The nomination process was followed and five new members were successfully appointed. Then, the popcorn hit the fan. These new members scheduled a meeting and they voiced their intention of ordering an audit of the Accommodations Tax accounts . (It is normal operating procedure for a new board to call for an audit of accounts before they take responsibility for the funds as they are legally responsible after they take control.) Mr. Davis, Mr. Call, Mr. Schurlknight, and Mr. Pinckney (the Dark Side) did not appear happy with this prospect.

We move on to the February 22nd Regular Council meeting. In a process that broke all the rules and ignored the fact that all the positions on the Accommodations Tax Board were legally filled and there were no vacancies, the Dark Side decided to appoint a new slate of members. (The only ways to legally replace a member is either 'for cause', if the member resigns, or their term has ended) None of these situations applied in this case. The legal process was not followed. The Dark Side just decided to replace the five new members so they did.

The Conservatives on County Council, including Mr. Fish and Mr. Callanan, protested strongly. They pointed out that replacing their slate of board members without due process was illegal. The Dark side ignored these protests. Being as Mr. Davis has the support of four of the eight members of Council, the issue received a tie vote. Then, of course, Mr. Davis broke the tie and his effort to restructure the board was successful.

GE&P interviewed Mr. Fish concerning this matter. Mr. Fish said he did address Mr. Call about the illegal appointment of the new slate of board members. Mr. Fish admitted his patience was running thin. He said, in exasperation, he told Mr. Call (not Mr. Schurlknight) that he would make every effort to get the original board members reinstated, hold an audit of the accounts, and, if any of the money was missing, he "would burn all their asses".

Being as this effort on the part of the Dark Side was blatantly against the Rules and obviously illegal, something had to be done to divert the public's attention. After what must have been a lengthy planning session, the "I'll burn your house down" plan was initiated. This plan would require that the minutes be held from approval being as a brief review by a five year old could tell the accusation was false. Also, the details concerning the Accommodation Tax Board could not under any circumstances be released to the public.

So, there we have it in a nut shell. Prior to 2010, we had an Accommodations Tax Board (having responsibility of oversight)with no records of having met in two years, (until last month when minutes of two meetings [which just happen to be carbon copies of each other] just happened to materialize) hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars not accounted for, a supreme effort on the part of the Dark Side which resulted in assuring there would be no oversight and certainly no audit, and a sensational false accusation against Mr. Fish that the ever accommodating P&C was happy to put on their front page to keep the attention off the real issue.

GE&P would like to take this opportunity to tip our collective hat to the Dark Side. You really know how to git 'er done. And, as long as you can depend upon the P&C to continue to be your willing accomplice, you'll probably get away with this one, too. Congratulations to those very thoughtful 8000+ voters who put us where we are. We hope you're proud.