Commentary by Samuel Strait – September 29, 2922 I have to say it. I didn't see that one coming, not that it changed much of anything in the continued dysfunction of our local Board of Supervisors. At long last a dissenting vote and on the County budget no less. After reviewing the September 27th meeting of the County's Lords and Ladies on video several times, for you must excuse me as not being able to attend the last twenty five minutes of the recent meeting in person, as a much more important business to attend to, watching an exceptionally vivid color of paint dry, drew me away from the revolting display of testosterone by our erstwhile Chair of the Board, Gerry Hemmingsen. Pretty clearly, Chair Hemmingsen is not much of a fan of anything that disturbs his napping ability, eyes wide open, while conducting the County's business. Board of Supervisors Once again the issue of three minute public participation in the very transparent conducting of the County's business came up, when local citizen, Brandon Bieber, voicing his objection to the robot-like conduct of the Board when passing lengthy lists of Consent Agenda items without so much as a by your leave discussion, was cut off for exceeding the sacred and inviolate three minute time limit. Naturally, that exceptional virtue of public participation and transparency, Gerry Hemmingsen, could not abide by his stated virtues and had Mr. Bieber's microphone silenced. So much for transparency and public participation that Board Chair is constantly whining about. Needless to say, in the ensuing war of words, it was very likely possible for Mr. Bieber to have completed his remarks with much less angst displayed by Chair Hemmingsen. It is not as though the Consent Agenda does not warrant more attention to its content by the public, for many items that have appeared on it warrant more than the cursory attention it normally receives. One almost begins to believe that various of the County's department heads use this mechanism to escape any sort of scrutiny when large sums of money or interesting contracts for approval appear regularly within. A more functional suggestion for public participation while discussing the aforementioned Agenda by Supervisor Starkey, supported by appointee Supervisor Masten, was summarily dismissed by the "ruler of all Board things", Gerry Hemmingsen. Looks like the public will have to wait outside the palace for any scraps of recognition. Following yet another pointless ordinance regarding parking at Preston Island, not as if the Sheriff doesn't have enough to do, the Board stumbled on after a series of 5-0 votes to a video glorifying the County's efforts to "help" the local citizenry "get a Job". Of course failing to recognize the fact that many businesses in the County are in a perpetual search for employees in order to keep their doors open, not to mention stuff to sell. Clearly the Board of Supervisors continue to turn a blind eye to the struggles of local community members with their simple inability to keep up with the rising costs to live. Granted they have been most generous to the four hundred and some odd County employees which has taken the sting out of their lives, but the County has more than County employees who would like to get a break as well. Aside from a couple of undiscussed budget transfers, 5-0 on each occasion, and the County's desire to participate in yet another out of town commission by none other than Supervisor Chris "must like to travel on the County's dime" Howard, a true revelation occurred when discussing the County's proposed budget for 2022-2023. While regaling the Board and the public about the "process" by which the County's budget is constructed by our own Auditor-Controller, Clinton Schaad, it was revealed that far from the desperate, impoverish state of the County's financial picture most often repeated at nearly every opportunity by Supervisor Chris Howard and other Board members, the County's financial health is currently rather robust. Auditor-Controller Schaad should be commended for this honest appraisal of County finances, rather than the hysterical portrait we have been inundated with by County leadership and government. Makes one wonder why exactly the less than one percent of the $182 million budget represented by the Measure "R" funding is being held out as catastrophic if repealed in November. Never fear, I have a theory about that one. When the generous raises "forced" on the County's employees at the beginning of 2022, a bargain was struck with the County's Unions that if Measure "R" was struck down, the raises would go away as well as the positions that were funded by that money. To the average observer of Union shenanigans one would assume that the Union members were being thrown under the bus by their leadership by agreeing to such a bargain. Not so fast. Since we now know that County finances are not at crisis level, as evidenced by the discussion that followed about Animal Control and their needs, one thing was made clear is that the County has a number of "pots" of money that can be used for whatever the Board elects to employ them for. Clearly the County's Union leadership is counting on those funds to support the rash of new hires that have occurred over the last nine months to make things "easier" for County employees. The take away from this recent meeting, other than a singular "NO" vote of dissent on the Budget by Valerie Starkey, surprise, surprise, is that the County is NOT destitute by any measure and can afford the loss of Measure "R" funding without much of a disruption of County government. The County can very likely retain most of the new hires from sources within the current budget. And finally, the attitude of the Board when it comes to benefit is clearly directed at County government and not the rest of us "Walmart" shoppers. Vote "YES" on Measures "U" and "T" in November to lower taxes in the County. Remember, a "YES" vote on those two Measures LOWERS the County and City Sales tax by one percent.