Transparency in Government
All council meetings should be open to the press and the public, its budget should be available for review by anyone, and its laws and decisions should be open to discussion. By doing this there is less opportunity for the authorities to abuse the system for their own interests. If you were to ask local news reporters about their ability to contact me, they would be quick to point out that I have been readily accessible for questions regarding school division issues. I have also given them my cell phone number should they not be able to reach me on my office telephone. Too many times the press reports that someone in the city office is not available for comment. This should not happen. The city owes it to the citizens of Suffolk to respond. Transparency should also include ensuring that information disseminated by city council should be factual. Last April, some comments were made, by a councilman, that were not factual, yet the remarks were portrayed as facts. Vice Mayor Brown stated that he didn’t recall seeing anyone but the city manager and her employees during responses to an F3 tornado, Hurricane Irene,
Blizzard of 2010, and multiple nor’easters? Has he ever visited one of the shelters housed in school buildings during one of those disasters? They are manned by the Red Cross, school administrators, school custodians, and school food service staff. I have worked those shelters, pulling all-nighters with my family at Nansemond River High School when I was Assistant Principal of that school. I have spent the night at Suffolk’s Emergency Operations Center as the school system’s representative during a hurricane, leaving my wife alone at home to fend for herself. Did Vice Mayor Brown participate in the clean-up activities for the tornado? Had he been there he would have seen not only school employees, but members of the military, the United Way, the Red Cross, and countless others as well. It was a team effort by the city staff, local agencies, and citizens of which Suffolk can be proud. Vice Mayor Brown also credited the city manager and her staff with doing the heavy lifting when negative fund balances were discovered and Suffolk was downgraded by bond rating agencies placing the city on the brink of financial disaster. What he doesn’t know is that then Superintendent, Dr. Milton Liverman, placed a soft freeze on spending in an effort to return more money than normal at the end of the year to the city. That year Suffolk Public Schools returned more than three million dollars to the city to assist with the negative fund balances. I have always envisioned a city government and a school division working hand in hand to provide for the citizens of Suffolk. This is utterly impossible when elected officials use their position to disseminate false and misleading information.
Blizzard of 2010, and multiple nor’easters? Has he ever visited one of the shelters housed in school buildings during one of those disasters? They are manned by the Red Cross, school administrators, school custodians, and school food service staff. I have worked those shelters, pulling all-nighters with my family at Nansemond River High School when I was Assistant Principal of that school. I have spent the night at Suffolk’s Emergency Operations Center as the school system’s representative during a hurricane, leaving my wife alone at home to fend for herself. Did Vice Mayor Brown participate in the clean-up activities for the tornado? Had he been there he would have seen not only school employees, but members of the military, the United Way, the Red Cross, and countless others as well. It was a team effort by the city staff, local agencies, and citizens of which Suffolk can be proud. Vice Mayor Brown also credited the city manager and her staff with doing the heavy lifting when negative fund balances were discovered and Suffolk was downgraded by bond rating agencies placing the city on the brink of financial disaster. What he doesn’t know is that then Superintendent, Dr. Milton Liverman, placed a soft freeze on spending in an effort to return more money than normal at the end of the year to the city. That year Suffolk Public Schools returned more than three million dollars to the city to assist with the negative fund balances. I have always envisioned a city government and a school division working hand in hand to provide for the citizens of Suffolk. This is utterly impossible when elected officials use their position to disseminate false and misleading information.