July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
No one to blame but themselves
Editorial
The Jay County Commissioners have no one to blame but themselves.
Last week, the commissioners spent about $6,000 more than necessary to replace the roof on the courthouse. And it’s nobody’s fault but theirs.
The stumble came earlier in August when — instead of seeking competitive quotes or advertising for sealed bids — the commissioners opted to go with a company that had made a good sales pitch.
When Jay County Councilman Ted Champ complained about that stumble and suggested it would be smarter to get multiple quotes, the commissioners first hunkered down. Champ, they suggested, was reaching beyond the scope of his job description as a county council member. The fact that he could have raised the same question as a private citizen seemed lost on them.
Then, when The Commercial Review weighed in, backing Champ’s position, the commissioners apparently panicked. Even though they had a quote in front of them that had been published in multiple news accounts, they sought additional quotes.
Not surprisingly, one of those quotes came in lower than the original. About $6,000 lower.
That’s what happens when the quote process becomes tainted. And this one was tainted.
So, whose fault is that?
Ted Champ’s? No.
The newspaper’s? No.
The commissioners are the only folks responsible for this fiasco. They got sloppy. They got casual. And when called on it, their efforts to create a do-over only made the situation worse.
What’s remarkable about the situation is that the current commissioners are three pretty smart guys.
Milo Miller Jr. has played an important role in tough, tough issues like zoning and expansion of the landfill. Faron Parr’s a savvy businessman and entrepreneur. Jim Zimmerman’s the kind of best-practices farmer that we’d sometimes like to clone.
But this time, they stumbled.
And if the people of Jay County are to get their money’s worth from the additional $6,000 in roofing expense, these three pretty smart guys ought to be a heck of a lot smarter next time around. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
Last week, the commissioners spent about $6,000 more than necessary to replace the roof on the courthouse. And it’s nobody’s fault but theirs.
The stumble came earlier in August when — instead of seeking competitive quotes or advertising for sealed bids — the commissioners opted to go with a company that had made a good sales pitch.
When Jay County Councilman Ted Champ complained about that stumble and suggested it would be smarter to get multiple quotes, the commissioners first hunkered down. Champ, they suggested, was reaching beyond the scope of his job description as a county council member. The fact that he could have raised the same question as a private citizen seemed lost on them.
Then, when The Commercial Review weighed in, backing Champ’s position, the commissioners apparently panicked. Even though they had a quote in front of them that had been published in multiple news accounts, they sought additional quotes.
Not surprisingly, one of those quotes came in lower than the original. About $6,000 lower.
That’s what happens when the quote process becomes tainted. And this one was tainted.
So, whose fault is that?
Ted Champ’s? No.
The newspaper’s? No.
The commissioners are the only folks responsible for this fiasco. They got sloppy. They got casual. And when called on it, their efforts to create a do-over only made the situation worse.
What’s remarkable about the situation is that the current commissioners are three pretty smart guys.
Milo Miller Jr. has played an important role in tough, tough issues like zoning and expansion of the landfill. Faron Parr’s a savvy businessman and entrepreneur. Jim Zimmerman’s the kind of best-practices farmer that we’d sometimes like to clone.
But this time, they stumbled.
And if the people of Jay County are to get their money’s worth from the additional $6,000 in roofing expense, these three pretty smart guys ought to be a heck of a lot smarter next time around. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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