WHAT "WE" HAVE ACCOMPLISHED

GE&P attended the BC Council meeting last night. Or, at least we think we did. We're not sure. Judging from the events we think we witnessed, we could have just accidentally meandered into the Twilight Zone. But, being as the proceedings were so far fetched and so removed from the normal operations of a Representative Republic, they are worth noting.

We will begin with the audit report.

During the course of this presentation, it was difficult to discern whether Mr. Finney was explaining the financial state of the county or presiding over a testimonial to the Supervisor, Dan Davis. (At notable points during this salvo of accolades, GE&P observed several members of the audience lifting their feet off the floor.) Mr. Davis was all smiles, seemingly pleased that the script was being delivered as written.

But, there are a few glaring facts that Mr. Finney neglected to mention.

1. On the first graph of his presentation, the bar representing the Fund Balance for 2010 far outreached that of 2006. In fact, the Fund Balance for 2006 was in excess of 16%. But, we are certain this misrepresentation was a minor error by the graphics department.

2. The report said, "As of 6/30/10, the Fund Balance was 15%." Mr. Finney did not answer the question as to what percentage is present as of today. Many people, much to the chagrin of Mr. Davis, know that the FILOT funds from Mt. Holly and the remainder of the money borrowed or transferred (according to which version the county is using today) from BCW&SA was deposited into the Fund Balance account just long enough for these funds to register on the 2010 audit. After that feat was accomplished, these funds were transferred to the general fund. From there, it is anyone's guess as to when or where these funds were spent. The only unavoidable fact is that these funds are no longer there.

Mr. Finney did not mention that the FILOT funds from Mt. Holly are one and the same funds taken from the BC School District. Granted, these funds legally belong to BC government but there was a long time agreement that these funds were to be shared with the School System to supplement the School System's revenue. Mr. Davis dispensed with that agreement and kept all of the funds.

Also, GE&P is somewhat confused about the $10 Million loan/transfer of funds from the BCW&SA Fund Balance. At one point in time, when the legality of this transaction was questioned, the forces that be said this was a LOAN because it would be illegal to transfer funds from the Authority to the general fund of BC government. Last night, we were told that this was an INTER-DEPARTMENTAL TRANSFER OF FUNDS. Which is it? It appears to GE&P that legal opinions from BC government are dependent upon many factors, namely, time of day, temperature, phase of the moon, day of the week, and which lie Mr. Davis wants to justify.

All in all, the testimonial, excuse us, audit report was long on fictitious kudos and short on applicable and accurate particulars.

Then the Finance Committee went on to try to preempt Mr. Callanan's attempt to address the Transparency issues. Mr. Schurlknight attempted to place the blame for this issue not being addressed earlier on the shoulders of Councilwoman Cathy Davis. Mr. Schurlknight stated that Mrs. Davis was appointed chairwoman of that subcommittee and she had never called a meeting. This sounded valid until Mrs. Davis pointed out the fact that Mr. Schurlknight had never announced the members of the committee. The last she heard of this potential committee was when Mr. Schurlknight said he "would get back to her when he had the committee formed".

Mr. Davis was correct when he stated it would be "political suicide" to ignore the Transparency issue. The folks are watching. But, Mr. Davis has a few big problems. He cannot afford to allow an independent effort to televise the Council meetings. If the general public has the ability to witness the proceedings in full, Mr. Davis would be facing an uprising of protest. He has to maintain editing rights so only that which he wants to be made public will be and that which he doesn't won't be. It will be interesting to watch how he solves this problem.

Televising the Council meetings is not Mr. Davis' biggest problem. The Resolution, also, calls for making ALL financial records easily accessible on the county website. This move would mean disaster for Mr. Davis. As things stand now, a private citizen or even some Councilmen cannot get their questions answered about how the tax dollars are spent. Funds travel around the county in a manner that would put a check kiting scam to shame. (The Fund Balance is but one example.)

Another Example: Several citizens who regularly attend the Council meetings observed construction of a water line project underway in the Queeney community last year. These folks knew they had heard nothing about this project at the Council meetings. They notified their member of Council. (The law says that ALL contracts exceeding the Supervisor's discretionary spending limit of $50,000 must be approved by Council) Their Councilman knew nothing about the project. When members of Council questioned the fact that the project was underway without the approval of Council, they were told that Greene Construction Company had "gotten a jump" on the project but a contract had not been signed yet. It is of note to remember this was a $1.2 Million project and the Supervisor wants us to believe this company would purchase material and complete over 50% of this project without the safety and security of a signed contract. Staff members told Council they had to approve the contract (after the fact) or risk a lawsuit by the contractor. Council approved the contract (we wouldn't have) and as if by magic, two weeks later the document appeared with a current date. No one asked that Greene Construction provide their copy of the contract. The issue was dropped.

Now, GE&P has learned of yet another example of Mr. Davis' transparency policy at work. As we all know, the Hanahan/ Murrey Blvd. Intersection Improvement Project is well under way. The project is due for completion in June 2011. The cost of this project is between one and two Million dollars. According to Banks Construction Company, the bid for this project was accepted on August 10, 2010 and the contract was signed on October 8, 2010. This contract was never presented to Council for approval. At least 4 members of Council knew nothing about this contract. When an inquiry was made, BC government claimed this project was bid, and the contract assigned, by SCDOT, not BC. Even if it is common practice to delegate this authority to SCDOT on some projects, permission for this action would have to come with approval of Council. It didn't.

Maybe we were asleep when this happened but we would beg the question, "When did SCDOT acquire the power to usurp the legal authority of Berkeley County Council to control and approve the expenditure of BC's designated tax dollars?"

There were other lapses in protocol and deviations from Law and Rule exhibited at the meeting but why bore you with repetitions of behavior that only applied to different issues?

In all honesty, GE&P must commend Mr. Davis and his other four Rinocrats on County Council for a job well done last night. Mr. Davis' script was concise and so easy to follow that even Mr. Call didn't louse up his part. (And that's saying a lot) Mr. Davis orchestrated the proceedings beautifully and his four followers definitely earned their forty acres and a mule.