A royal pain
In My Opinion
By Bob Robinson
“I do NOT want to add any more debt… I want to get rid of the debt we have.”
Not my words. Mike Stegall’s.
I met with Mike for about an hour and a half Monday morning. We covered a number of issues, among them county debt, communication and the infamous courthouse addition project.
My reasons for the meeting were two-fold. I am obligated by party affiliation to support Republican candidates at all levels. That includes the Republican candidate for Darke County Commissioner. Mike is that candidate. I wanted to discuss his approach to the office, when elected, now that the primary campaign is over. And I wanted to make the case for my supporters… the reasons they supported me.
The meeting went well.
Communication. He made the commitment to do everything he could to make sure Darke Countians know what is going on in the Commissioner’s Office. This includes using local media – like he did as a Greenville Township Trustee – as well as exploring other avenues of communication. We also discussed using email. Later at the Commissioners meeting, regular updates on the web site were considered as a potentially better option.
County debt. No new debt, and he wants to retire our current debt. He also made it clear that the added sales tax that was kept on the books by the Commissioners two years ago for the courthouse addition should be dropped as soon as financially feasible.
Courthouse addition. “The courthouse itself needs to be modernized and utilized to its fullest potential… and safety requirements must be met.”
Mike said he thinks the Commissioners plan is a good one for the solution they now have but added that it isn’t necessarily the only solution to the problem.
“Other avenues may present themselves to the Commissioners in the future so they must be flexible in their plan… constantly look for other answers.”
We didn’t discuss jobs and economic growth. No need to. While his campaign approach was different than mine, we are both on the same page. He will support the efforts of our Economic Development Director, Marc Salek, to the fullest extent allowed by the office.
Regarding communication, I pointed out that the Commissioners have not been observing what is technically considered a public meeting… Ohio’s Sunshine Law requires that any time a majority of a public body is in the same room – unless protected by Executive Session – it is a public meeting. In this case, it is two Commissioners. They have no room for individual offices, so Ohio says they are in public session whenever they are in their office.
I don’t believe the solution requires major changes or expense. They have a web site - http://co.darke.oh.us/ - that is currently pretty much static. It needs to be updated daily… all schedules, of course, subject to change. Whenever minutes are taken – again, except for Executive Session – they should be posted as soon as they are approved.
Mike made it clear that during his campaign, he did not express his views correctly on the courthouse project. He said he thought he did, but realized he didn’t succeed. He said the two structures we currently have must be upgraded and modernized as our first priority. A new courthouse addition, if it happens at all, would be a minimum of 10 years down the road and without any new debt or taxes.
I told him, frankly, that “if it happens” may not be what voters want to hear right now… at least not my supporters. They are angry about how this whole issue came about – as a done deal – and want nothing to do with it. They want other options. Period.
We are in agreement that, in addition to bringing our buildings into the 21st Century, the current traffic flow to the third floor for the Municipal Court is unacceptable and must be addressed.
All possible solutions have to be explored. Implementation of any solution is totally dependent upon the funds available as the economy turns around… which it will. We both agree that the county can’t – and won’t – spend money it doesn’t have.
I believe I have been true to Mike’s talking points. I’ve quoted the highlights of our conversation from his perspective. And I’ve added mine.
Mike knows he has a tough race ahead of him, and that he needs to repair his communication problems with the voters between now and November. He needs to do it publicly. His job is to convince you, not me.
In a brief conversation Tuesday morning, he told me he had some signs of mine he picked up last week. I told him to keep one, if he wished, and throw the others away.
“Right now, I have no intention of running again,” I said. “I believe I can get just as much accomplished, maybe more, by being a pain in your _ _ _.”
He liked that.
That’s my opinion. What’s yours?
Bob Robinson is the retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio. If you wish to receive his opinion comments by direct email, send your email address to: opinionsbybob@gmail.com.
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