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Residents criticize Scott County meeting times, county pay practices and transparency
Summary
At a lengthy Scott County Board of Supervisors meeting, several residents urged the board to change meeting times, demanded records on employee pay and ARPA funds, and questioned a county vehicle and hotel expenses; the county administrator and supervisors responded and said records and explanations are available.
Several residents used the board’s citizen-expression period to press Scott County leaders for greater transparency and to urge more accessible meeting times.
Bobby Couch Powers, who identified herself as a Scott County resident, told the board that meeting start times make it difficult for many residents who must work and cannot miss pay. She asked the board to reconsider the 9 a.m. meeting time, saying earlier or evening times would let more people attend. “If a county claims to work for the people but the people can’t benefit from attending a monthly meeting, what does that say about the leaders of this town?” she asked.
Powers also raised questions about county personnel and spending. She asked for an explanation of the creation and pay increases for what she described as a new “assistant county administrator” position and noted a rise she said took a long-time maintenance employee from about $68,000 to about $100,000 over several years. She requested the “money trail” for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and CARES funds, asking whether funds were redeposited and when.
County Administrator Freda Starnes and several supervisors responded in public. Starnes said she accepts meetings of constituents by appointment and that department directors and other staff acted at the board’s direction on county projects. A supervisor said the administrator’s vehicle is a contractual benefit and that Starnes pays taxes on that benefit; he said the vehicle was bought in part with grant funds and partly with county money because the administrator serves on multiple committees. On personnel questions, supervisors and staff said some position title changes and pay adjustments predated the current administration and were made by prior boards, and they noted that job duties can evolve (e.g., a public-works director who also serves as assistant county administrator).
Board members and staff told Powers they would follow up on her requests for financial records. Starnes and others said records exist and can be reviewed; one supervisor said the county’s finances are more stable now than in earlier years and that outside financial consultants praised the county’s performance.
Several supervisors and the county administrator also explained the board’s decision to keep the 9 a.m. start time, saying they had tried evening meetings several times and attendance had not increased. Supervisors urged residents who cannot attend to call or email them or request appointments.
Why it matters: The exchanges at the meeting put public access and financial transparency at the center of the board’s public-relations challenge. Residents’ questions about pay and use of grant funds intersect with county budgeting choices and with the board’s ongoing efforts to update capital projects such as courthouse work and other large expenses.
What’s next: Board members said they would follow up on specific records requests, including the ARPA and CARES funds trail and budget-line clarifications, and that staff would provide links or documents where available.
