Holding Public Servants Accountable

This week, it was determined that enough evidence existed supporting improper procurement procedures and forgery of quotes from vendors to suspend two employees from The Greater Roanoke Transit Company. The wife of one of the employees has been implicated and warrants have been issued for a search of GRTC offices and the home of one of the employees.

It must be noted that no one has been convicted of any crimes, so the presumption of innocence must be afforded to those involved. Regardless of criminal convictions, however, it is clear that an improper procurement process occurred and that employees of GRTC were irresponsible and showed extraordinarily poor judgement at a minimum.

Beyond the potential illegalities and misuse of public money, this incident brings to the forefront an even more important, yet often unstated, belief that I share with so many others. We often hear that "public officials/public employees should be held to the same standards as everyone else."

I disagree with this statement. I believe that public officials and those who work in government should be held to higher standards than everyone else. For public officials, elected by citizens, we have chosen to put our names forward for office. We understand when we do this that the public eye, and the many probing eyes of the media that hold us accountable, are on us as we do our jobs. And for those that have chosen to work in government, and who are in particularly responsible roles in charge of the expenditure of public, taxpayer money, responsibility for only the highest ethical standards should be a job requirement.

The public has the right, in my opinion, to demand that those of us charged with making the decisions as to how to spend their money, elected or otherwise, be held to the highest possible standards. There is no doubt in my mind that this is exactly what the residents of Roanoke expect, and I couldn't agree more.

This Past Week

This past week, I heard from many constituents about some of the issues in front of Council. As you might imagine, the future of Countryside is on the minds of many, particularly those who have enjoyed the golf course as an amenity, beautiful backyard or green space for the community.

But the golf course should also be on the minds of all taxpayers in Roanoke City. It was a large purchase paid for with taxpayer money, with debt service payments of more than $460,000 per year. The course has some major infrastructural needs including the replacement of the irrigation system as well as golf cart paths.

I am a golfer, so I would be perfectly fine with the golf course remaining just that. But I am also involved in the business of real estate development, and from this perspective, the real property that is Countryside presents a number of issues that, in my mind, will prevent it from being developed into a residential community. Now is not the time for me to go into these, but suffice to say, I am convinced that the course, given market conditions and other factors, will likely remain a golf course. And again, I have no problem with this at all.

I do not, however, think that the City should be in the golf course business, and would like to begin a dialogue as a Council, community and taxpayer about the possibility of putting the golf course on the market and working to find a buyer who would put the necessary resources into making Countryside a long term success.

I will continue to learn as much as possible and hope residents of the Countryside neighborhoods as well as other taxpayers will share their thoughts with me.