Update: another little birdie has said “Harry didn’t write that email – he doesn’t write that well. Somebody ghostwrote it for him” and has suspicions.”. Either way, the above title still stands as his signature is on it. And he was just a bad boy in another way, too!
Guess that Chair “Cuttin’ Corners” is trying to do more of that – and it shows that he’s having trouble dealing with his incoming flack! Thanks to all of you who have contacted Chair Harry Bean and letting him know of your dissatisfaction – it’s having an effect. Why am I saying this?
Little birdies, my friends, little birdies, that’s why. A screenshot of the email body sent from the Chair (attachments are coming) tells me that he can’t defend this budget or his process in attaining it. Everything is going to be very tightly controlled and NOTHING will be allowed except what has been tightly proscribed. Not even other Representatives, so it seems, are going to be allowed to talk out of turn or ask questions based on submitted requests beforehand.
Tight ship – or stranglehold?
And no, we the public, will have had no input into this process (illegal Budget Review meetings). I just looked – neither the Commissioners’ budget (the foundation for the Delegation’s) nor any working copies/drafts have been post over the last couple of months. Thus, we have NO idea of what is happening to us going forward. Bean has made the decision that he is the Master and we have to suck it up.
No, Harry Bean, you don’t “owe the public a productive and efficient meeting.”. You’ve already shown your mismanagement style in wasting 3 months of idleness and illegal meetings that cut the public out of the loop. You deliberately have kept the public out of the process by staging those “improperly noticed” meetings and now a Potempkin style meeting where we cannot add to or object to anything.
You wear that Stetson hat with pride, Harry. You’ve shown us the antithesis of what you learned, budget process-wise, during your years on the Gilford Budget Committee that openness, transparency, and including public Q&A at every meeting.
But you don’t care – you finally got your FRM money, didn’t you
Here’s his Agenda for the 3/29 meeting:
Belknap County Delegation Meeting Agenda
March 29, 2023 at 6:30pm
- Call to Order
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Attendance Roll Call
- Approve Delegation minutes of March, 6, 2023
- Approve Budget Review Committee Minutes of March 13, 2023
- Presentation of Review Committee’s Recommendation – Rep. Bogert
- Discussion & Vote of 2023 Budget
- Total Expenditures
- Total Revenue
- Total to be raised by taxes
- Consideration of Cost Items – Sheriff’s Unit CBA
- Public Input
- Other Business
- Adjournment
But Skip! You said the Public would have no say in this – there’s a Public Input? Yep, I did.
But consider this: how can you have a say on the budget when Harry Bean hasn’t made a copy available to we the Public to study? How can we have input into the process AND THE VOTE when the Public Input section is AFTER the vote?
Well, here’s the budget – courtesy of the birdies. It is an excel spreadsheet but it linked back other files so when it asks to update the links (twice), say no. This may not be the most current but such is government work.
2023 Belknap County Budget WorksheetSo, let’s see what’s going to happen. While I only took a quick glance through, there’s a few line items that screamed out at me to take a second look.