‘County’ dollars?
To the Editor:
The letter, from Melissa and Ed Brush (in the May 26th newspaper) states that according to County Attorney, Wil Goering, money used to fund the engineering report in question came from casino dollars and is therefore not taxpayers dollars, which means the public has no right to see said report (and he does not have to share it).
Who else reads that as asinine?
Dollars, as we’ve been led to believe, are given to the “County” by the casino. I thought the “County” was a combination of the land and people within county boundaries.
Am I wrong in thinking that way?
If I’m wrong, someone please explain things to me!
Are casino dollars not given to the County? Is not the “county” comprised of people and land within its confines? If the casino dollars do not belong to the taxpayers of Switzerland County, then to whom ‘who’ or ‘what’ do they belong?
If any funds held by the County do not belong to the taxpayers, then by what authority can our elected officials expend said funds? The owner of the funds must provide consent to expend, which we do through electing officials.
I really, really hope that Wil or one or more of our elected County officials can take time to educate me. Better yet, make a public explanation in this newspaper – Please! (Don’t be like “The 4” school board members who refuse to explain their actions).
More to the immediate needs of the Brush family, I ask our elected County officials this question: regardless of how this or any other engineering report for public land (read roads) was funded, what could possibly be the harm in releasing the report? If the County has done nothing to make the county responsible for the awful situation, will the report substantiate that?
And, if the County should be held liable, per the report, then I think most of we taxpayers would support County action to assist the Brush family.
Answers and explanations are needed and deserved!
Sincerely,
Cary Louderback
Red Hog Pike, Cotton Township