Great News For Franklin County Elections Department

See the Secretary of State Special Review Report of the Franklin County Elections Department.

More news that was missed by the news...

Below is a copy of the comments I used to guide a discussion at the Franklin County Board of Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 in which I encourage the board to get an appraisal when expending $539,504 of proceeds from the sale of property to re-acquire property that had previously been sold by the County.  The board voted 3-0 to proceed with the purchase without an appraisal.

 

Comments:

As Auditor I have concerns the settlement agreement approved on April 8^th (2015-153)regarding the purchase of a property from CMV Holdings and Franklin County at the TRAC Complex may be a gift of public funds.  Several elements are needed to alleviate my concerns.  A private sector/objective market based appraisal of the property and an open public discussion on the public purpose of the purchase. The content of the discussion may raise additional questions.

Why am I interested?

The recent auction at TRAC piqued my interest in the “what” and “why” the county was making this move now.  My almost 27 years in real estate means I am just interested in this stuff.    I had missed a few meetings and attempted to use the public record to figure it out.  Needles to say it has been instructive.  I could not find a record of how you arrived at the purchase price.  And worse from the record I could not discern a compelling public interest in exercising the reversionary clause.  I want to alert the Board to a condition that would hard for you to know.  Due to the number of Exec sessions you had and the lack of public discussion in the records a citizen would not be able to tell what you did and, more importantly, why you did it.  That is why I am here to today. The public deserves a transparent open government and those of us in this room can deliver on that if we make it a priority; there would have been no way for you to know the county was failing on that point.

News that wasn’t in the news.

August 11, 2015

Just a quick note, Franklin Count sold 3 parcels located in the TRAC Complex last week that yielded close to a million dollars to the County.   The auction was held at the TRAC facility with Musser Brothers Auctions conducting the sale.  The funds could add a new variable to what is possible if the  City/County discussion proposed below comes to pass .  The next 20 years should be bright if we are willing to do the work plan a path forward.

The Auditor’s office has been working with the new GM, Tom French to develop and implement the policies and reporting  recommended in the Performance Audit.

Editorial From Sunday, April 26, 2015

Auditor Response and Clarification Regarding The City of Pasco Redistricting