Just Another Town Council Meeting
Here it is, the 2nd Monday of the month and time again for another Tarboro town council meeting.
I went. I watched. I listened. I felt a high level of frustration. I came home.
I don't have a lot to say about tonight. My father, a man of few words, always said to me "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Although I believe it may be impossible for me to "say nothing at all", I will try to keep my statements calm, polite, and to the point.
The two remaining companies submitted proposals for re-vamping the town's website. Both gave good presentations although it apparently wasn't necessary because without any further discussion, Sam Noble announced that "the staff" had determined that John Jenkins' son's Wyoming-based company, Circumerro should be given the job. All in favor?
Melvin Muhammad was the lone "nay" vote. It was embarrassing to watch. That the remainder of the town council members, the mayor, and the "hired help" were not embarrassed is shocking to me. These people genuinely do not see anything wrong with the way they are behaving.
The good news is I came home and did a little research and found that Mayor Donald Morris, and 4 town council members, Buck Price, Danny Hayes, John Jenkins, and David Smoot are ALL up for reelection in 2009.
Grassroots of Tarboro
Today, will be a day of more research, my brain has been working overtime.
There are 8 town council seats. With Melvin Muhammad already in the council and 4 seats up for reelection in a year, it is not unreasonable to consider that a majority of new thinking people could become a guiding force in Tarboro's future. We have time to work together and REALLY make things happen here.
After home-birthing and home-schooling I always wondered what I would do when the kids were grown. Now I know. My mothering skills are being put back into play, nurturing our town.
10 Comments
Reader Comments (10)
If this is true then your children in Tarboro are in very good hands! Might there be a political future for you??
Is there a political office in your future?
While I do not want Tarboro to be Raleigh, that's why I left Virginia Beach, VA, I do want Tarboro to grow & prosper. There seem to be some that want everything to remain the same while they sit in their mini-mansions & let the common folks eat cake. I am a conservative on many issues, but this old boy network & attitude of some to keep others from knowing what's going on & from having a say is disgusting & un-American!
Betty for Town Council! You've got my vote! I was going to suggest that you run...
The silver lining - re-election time! This town could be a wonderful little arts and family center, but not if the old-boys are permitted to waste the townspeople's money. We must coordinate between shop owners for the expansion of business hours in the downtown and THEN it is time for advertising. No need to advertise until there's something open when people visit! Also, there needs to be a moratorium on raising business' rent until there is a consensus that the downtown is, once again, booming! A web site is not the solution to the town's slump, but common sense and learning what worked for other localities is.
Let me know when the next GoTarboro meeting is scheduled.
Betty for town council -- works for me.
I think it's time for some changes in this town.
Betty for Mayor!!!!
Betty for Mayor!!!!!
Today I paid $2.00 and got a copy of a map showing the 8 wards that are served by each of the 8 town council members. We need to find a suitable resident in each ward who truly understands what needs to happen to create a vibrant future for Tarboro. We need to be very selective in who we choose to represent us.
We have plenty of time to study, learn and determine who the Grassroots of Tarboro will support in the next town elections. We also have time to plan, promote and grow.
I suggest start with Mayor. You certainly would have my vote.
If you all are upset about the $60,000 for the website you should be outraged that Sam Noble chairs ElectriCities (second time) and for his soon-to-be 12 years on the board he will have made $170,000+, been on at least 24 expensive trips, taking his kids with him on the public tab. But more importantly he is letting the CEO GET PAID $500,000 and staff to get 60% salary increases over 5 years, allow the CEO to engage in illegal behavior and have to settle out of court to the tune of hundreds of thousands, run up legal bills and RAISE OUR ELECTRIC RATES.
ATTEND june 27 in Rocky Mount 10 am Rate Meeting and learn how the rates will jump 10% because the expensive CEO goofed on a refinance, fired/retired the CFO and waited 6 months to tell his board but they let him get away with it.
Now here is the scandal
Hellooooo can Jesse Tilton, the infamous CEO of ElectriCities read? I honestly thought Sam Noble, the board chair from Tarboro was smarter, but I guess not. Climate change is going to pass Congress regardless of what Tilton and Noble write to the paper and Sen. Dole. Every presidential candidate is on the bandwagon and 3/4 of Congress is - it is the "political place to be". Climate change has a minimal effect on electric rates in electric cities in NC - Jesse Tilton's miss on the refinance of the $3 billion eastern debt is a much bigger issue. That combined with his reckless spending will have a MUCH bigger effect. How convenient to try to use the $100,000 lobbyist Rob Talley to move the issue to Sen Dole instead of where it belongs --- with Tilton. Jesse Tilton is the cause of high rates,a s a result of total financial incompetence. He is trying to pin it on Al Conyers but that is a joke. The buck stops .... with TILTON.
Tilton needs to read the paper and deal with climate change and better yet own up to his completely screwed up miss on the refinance and quit trying to blame Dole. Brian Nick and the Dole staff are too smart for that to happen. It makes us all look stupid. I, for one, want an entity screwing up our rates to be accountable and look respectable. This is ridiculous.
Sam Noble is making us all look stupid