Honesty, straightforwardness, and strong moral principles are closely related. My perception of the Board of Supervisors makes me doubt its ability to satisfy Integrity as one of its Core Values. I’ve seen little to persuade me and wonder how many others are as unconvinced as I am. A large part of the Board’s image, I believe, is of its own making. The anecdote of the corporate board meeting best describes the workings of the people Louisa Citizens elected to fulfill that public office.
“Think of board members having a discussion about financing the corporation’s infrastructure. There may be one or two with the knowledge and experience to adequately address all the important points. When the meeting turns to purchasing equipment and other facility resources, maybe half the members are able to have an intelligent conversation. When the agenda item finally reaches what brand of coffee should be provided in the company kitchen, they’re all experts.”
That’s pretty much the view I have of the Board, except that any expertise with the functioning of high-level finances and operations is overly exaggerated. Basically, there’s no evidence I’ve seen to contradict my view. If someone has that kind of information, it would help to share it with the rest of us.
In the meantime, the Board continues to give the false impression of a competence that’s been bought and paid for with props provided by the likes of Timmons Group. The Board hides its lack of expertise for a reason, to display an aura of authority and omniscience, which is a dangerous combination to those of us who are subjected to it. It certainly has the “authority” to abuse but lacks the omniscience necessary for wisdom. Over time, the perpetuation of that combination results in the kind of mismanagement we get to see from the officials we elected to pursue our best interest, instead of theirs.
Where I see dishonesty, and the accompanying lack of Integrity, is the mercenary approach the Board takes to deceive Louisa that it has the requisite understanding of local government functions. You hire an expert to tell you want you want to hear and convince everyone else in the process.
How many times, over how many issues, have the citizens of Louisa been lulled into a false expectation that the Board would respond to its wishes and concerns? Until the Monacan Nation pursued legal remedies, the Board had no hesitation squandering taxpayer dollars by ignoring the legitimacy of technical facts from citizens in favor of the toxic pablum disseminated by the likes of Timmons Group.
The people of Louisa still have to learn that the Board serves the people. That would be the best way to extract the Integrity that belongs to us.
These are my perceptions based on what I’ve seen and the Board hasn’t shown.
“Perception is Reality.”
Joe Mikolajczak
Gordonsville
This letter was previously published in the Central Virginian newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission. You may find the original at The Central Virginian