There is legislation brewing to take power away from your county delegation and hand it to the county commissioners. It’s probably a response to the Gunstock situation, though it could be anything.
At first glance, these all seem like they have the potential for problems but HB43 specifically. Take a look, and if you can’t attend, send a polite email expressing your concerns (if you have them) to the committee. Support. Opposition.
Len Turcotte is the Chair.
Public hearings are Wednesday, January 11th, in the Municipal and County Government Committee.
1:45 HB 43 delegates all authority for county property to the commissioners and removes the delegation from ratification.
2:15 HB 75 increases the threshold for competitive bidding in the sale of county-owned property from $300 to $3,000.
2:45 HB 83 Removes the $5K limit to purchase or repair County buildings.
3:00 HB 87 Increases the monetary cap for purchase, sale, repairs etc. from $5K to 25K.
Update: This was a quick note I tossed up earlier, and I’m looking at the bills now. …
Our own Judy Aron and several other Republicans are the sponsors of these bills.
HB 43 would eliminate the need for county commissioners to get a vote of approval from the county delegation.
I’ll admit I have concerns about removing layers of accountability when it comes to public property transactions (HB43), but I’ll reserve my judgment until I can talk to Judy or other sponsors about them.
