Old Dogs
There comes a time when we the people simply have to say “enough is enough”. There is currently an individual on the Boone County Quorum Court by the name of Dan Roberts who manages to put a vise-grip on the county budget to the point where he alone decides how our money is going to be spent. It is my opinion that through the establishment of a coalition he controls, Roberts has wielded his power over the county budget for years. I believe it is obvious to all who are paying attention that he feels a sense of entitlement to such a position and it has gone too far.
Last evening, I attended a meeting of the Roads and Bridges Committee. During the meeting, JP Allen Mallioux was asked why he had voted against a proposal that would provide much needed funding for the maintenance of our rural roads. After he shockingly realized that he was being addressed directly, he could only reply that he would have to check his notes. (In my view, that’s code for “I will have to ask Dan Roberts.”)
As I attend more and more of the Boone County Quorum Court meetings, I see many things that have passed through this court in the past that cause a taxpayer to wonder “What were they thinking?” For example: Several years ago, the county hospital was leased to a private company for 30 years at a total cost of $30 per year. $30 per year?!!! Many feel the North Arkansas Regional Medical Center is one of the most expensive sources of medical care in the area and provides the least amount of services and the county only receives $30 per year? That was a very poor business decision. Another recent revelation was that a few years ago, a significant loan was given to the Boone County Regional Airport. When the airport was unable to repay the loan, the court simply forgave it. Whether that was the right thing to do is debatable and can be taken up at a later time, but what is truly amazing is that the Quorum Court continues to extend loan after loan to the same airport. Is it reasonable to question the court’s judgment? I say yes but the point of these examples is that each time these bad decisions were made, Dan Roberts was in support of them and as we’ve established, Dan Roberts holds the purse strings.
Now we come to the maintenance of our rural roads and Dan Roberts does not want to provide the funding necessary to do so. It is important to note that Dan Roberts represents a district within the Harrison city limits and is not directly affected by the condition of the rural roads. Is the job of a county Justice of the Peace to look out for their own interests or the interests of the county as a whole? It is my opinion that JP Roberts believes that it is the former.
We are now well within an election cycle – one which will require JPs such as Dan Roberts, Allen Mallioux and the rest of the Roberts 5 to run for their seats once again. Now is the time that citizens should be attending the Quorum Court meetings and watch how these people are trying to run roughshod over the county finances and other important issues. I believe that it will not take long before the citizens realize that it is time for these Old Dogs to receive a courteous “thank you for your service” and a polite but undeniable “welcome to retirement” message.
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Note: Blog entries by Boone County Tea Party members are the opinion of the individual author only and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Boone County Tea Party as a whole. Blog entries are posted here for the convenience of the general public.