Publisher Shari Johnson
Following Monday’s meeting of the Calhoun County Commission and the three water entities involved in the consolidation effort, The Town of Grantsville, Mt. Zion PSD and Pleasant Hill PSD, I pondered the circumstances of that meeting and prior other meetings of this group of individuals. With the exception of the newly appointed Jason Firestine to Mt. Zion’s board, who looked somewhat shellshocked at the abrupt end of Monday’s meeting.
As is always the case when I attend a chaotic government meeting, my heart is broken for our community. The rantings of a few of our elected officials does not represent the community of Calhoun. Perhaps it represents every community in the world by noting there’s always a few crackers in a good nutritional bowl of soup. But after months of struggling with keeping a grip on my own mental health when covering all the adversity, I came to the conclusion that we all needed a come to Jesus moment beginning first with the fact that our community is blessed with some major financial attributions that really had nothing to do with elected officials.
Several years ago, the elected officials had our county in a mess by not allowing anyone outside of a slim group of leaders to have any input in how the County was ran. Poor decisions having been made by both the State and County levels, had the jail bill at astronomical unaffordable prices. The amount of community awareness of what went on with local governmental control of finances could be held in a thimble. Nobody attended a County Commission meeting or a City Council meeting because nobody thought that they could make a difference for the betterment of Calhoun. The same holds true with School Board meetings – – but that’s a story for another day.
But after the almost bankrupt state of Calhoun County, things began to change. The compressor station came in and generated nearly 2 million dollars for our County’s budget. The jail bill was paid and there was actually a surplus of money in Calhoun’s Coffers. The political regime didn’t know what to do, not having to stress financial matters. Then they became a target for people seeking contributions, some worthy, some not.
Three entities who were the recipients of MANY, MANY, MANY of those contributions were the The Town of Grantsville, Mt. Zion PSD and Pleasant Hill PSD.
I requested and received from Calhoun County Clerk Jean Simers a list of the recent (within a few years) payouts and bailouts to those agencies. Take a look below.
$2,082,494.07. That is a come to Jesus moment.
So, when Council Member Courtney Alexander stood before our County Commission and said that the County didn’t have anything in the consolidation, my mind went back to those contributions. Contributions from everyone who pays taxes in Calhoun County. We have a lot invested. So much so, that I think there ought to be representation by someone on that board for the County as a whole. And I sure don’t think that the Town of Grantsville should be permitted to control any of it. Have a voice, of course. But not control.
The mention of ARPA funding Being used for part of the contributions was made, as if that wasn’t “really County money.” That’s a trend that I see all too often in our Nation. Grant money is often viewed as a personal gift, expendable on anything of our hearts desires. After all, it’s not tax money, right? Where do you think that money originated from? Some of it might have come from philanthropic efforts, but most of it came from the money we send the federal government. And even if the money came from someone, rather than the government, someone worked hard for that money. It deserves being handled with care.
There’s a lot riding on this consolidation that most people are not even aware of. It began with the 1982 Foundation, who has invested $10 million dollars into our Community and continues to contribute to multiple non-profits and has given us an audience in Washington, DC that we have never had. There are companies now looking at relocation in Calhoun County, our hospital is expanding and so will their service. We are on the national map as a destination people want to live in and visit. But we’re not ready. We need a viable water system. We need internet by a company that doesn’t forget us the second they cash a billion dollar check. We need available properties and a community that is clean and proud of where they live. We need serious marketing, and we need elected officials that act like they have some sense, and treat the ones that do act professional with respect.
Calhoun County is the best place on earth in my opinion. Because the people who live here (the majority) are hardworking, honest people, who genuinely care for their neighbors and invest themselves with their money and time in the community. They deserve representation that depicts as much.
If you question whether or not your opinion matters. Look at that list of contributions to these agencies again, and remember that you were not asked, but you helped.
