Dear Editor,
Contrary to what politicians think, they are not elected to pad their bank accounts. They were elected to follow the edicts of the voters. City council has been negligent in the performance of their duties by not changing the City Charter to prevent incumbents from receiving a paycheck when they are not capable of attending meetings. Specifically, Councilman Gray has not physically been to a meeting in excess of three years. A rough guess is he has collected approximately $16,500.00 in wages for NOT WORKING. Unacceptable.
Also take a look at the article in the Jones County News regarding Councilman Favors who walked out on a vote that would have impacted the residents/voters of several subdivisions near the Rec. Dept on Hwy 18. I applaud Councilman Favors for standing with the voters and not the desires of a contractor.
We must either force city council to change the City Charter to stop the bleed by paying politicians that can’t come to work or vote them out of office. Due to Councilman Grays absence, the voters in his district are being shorted a voice on the council. Right now, based upon the current City Charter Councilman Gray could run for re-election again. Is this the type of ethical behavior we want for our community, ourselves or our children – I think not.
Call your councilman now and demand a change to the City Charter to stop this travesty. Also tell them to stop variances for Contractors.
Sincerely, Rick Tipton Voter
