HOPKINS COUNTY, KY - Thank God that I do not live in, or pay taxes in the city of Nortonville. As far as I know I do not have a criminal record, and I would hate to acquire one now, but if I lived in that corner of the county, I believe that yours truly would find himself in the Hopkins county hotel for acting a little excessive. I am in no way indorsing you to act in a similar fashion, your actions are your own, however if you live in the town of Nortonville you have a personal, and civic obligation to undertake, right now! In the event that you didn’t already know, your scribe will help get you up to snuff.

It has been brought to my attention that, apparently a certain mayor, of a particular city, along with two individual clerks at that certain mayor’s disposal, cannot, or will not produce specific documentation. Then, the aforementioned have resigned their positions from that particular city, the mayor claiming medical reasons, as for the clerks, I haven’t a clue. The documentation in question details the financial spending of that particular city. The money spent was donated in good faith by the tax payers of that particular city, as well as the Kentucky tax payers from all across the commonwealth. Supposedly this particular city also received something to the tune of one million dollars from the general fund, for some reason that escapes me at the moment. This cash from the fund has yet to be used for any public works to date, and is a part of the unaccounted for documentation.

Now, this particular city’s former mayor, along with his clerks are under investigation by the state. The County attorney wants to investigate as well on the behalf of the tax payers of this particular city, but the city’s attorney has advised those left holding the bag to not offer up any documentation. This documentation is the proof that will exonerate, or accuse all those involved, but so far it has not been produced.

It may be of some consequence that the city attorney is bidding for the county attorneys job, or maybe not. Maybe this is some childish game of back and forth as a result of their contest, maybe not. Either way, the people who have lost out are the tax payers. Every single dollar that the particular city takes in belongs as a whole to the people who gave it, and they are owed public works and services for that donation. The tax payer has the right, backed by the very constitution of this country, to know who, what, where, when, and why on every red cent that circulates through all levels of government. If you as a tax payer want to know how much money they are spending on the pennyrile parkway this year, you are entitled to know. If you have a desire to know how much money the men working on that parkway earn, you are entitled to know. This is just an example, but you now see what I am driving at. This information is, and rightfully should be public knowledge, and should be available at all times.

Although this is your right, you are not forced to keep up with this information. Just as you have the right to the press, keep and bear arms, and the right to vote. However no body forces these upon you. If I were an individual who wanted to misappropriate money, I know I would be hoping that nobody out there would be exercising these rights. This is where your obligation comes in. Maybe if we, the people, would remain more watchful, just maybe we could avoid situations like these. Possibly we could avoid some money down the tubes if we were the oversight committees, and the ethics boards. When I was in the Marine Corps we had a saying, police your own. I found it to hold true to effectiveness. Kick in the front door people of that particular city, just do it softly.

Josh Ashby

The opinions stated in the "Letter to the Editor" does not reflect the opinions of iSurf News

 

 

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