Lack of Transparency Breeds Mistrust

OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT!!!

At the special called fiscal court meeting this morning (June 24th at 8AM), each of the three (3) agenda items below were read out loud, no discussions followed, and passed unanimously:

• Amend the 2025–2026 Pay Scale

• Amend the 2026–2027 Pay Scale

• Approve Claims and Transfers

Public members in attendance were left with nothing but unanswered questions ... Why was this special meeting called? What were the specifics on each line item that was voted on and approved? Who received pay raises? How much? How does this affect our 2026 -2027 county budget that was just passed at the last fiscal court meeting on June 9th? What claims and transfers were approved?

This should ALL be public knowledge and easily accessible BEFORE votes are taken by fiscal court. While the public is always encouraged to attend fiscal court meetings, even when you are there in person, you are still kept in the dark about most specifics. Furthermore, this meeting was not live streamed or posted on https://www.meadeky.gov/274/Video-Archives as of yet.

There simply has to be a better way to keep the public more informed. If I am elected 3rd District Magistrate, this will be one of my top priorities! This lack of transparency only breeds public mistrust.

Note: In the past, the only way for a Meade County citizens to get more information about fiscal court meetings and decisions was to go to the Judge Executive's Office in person, complete an Open Records Request, and then pay 10 cents per page for any documents that were released to you, which you would have to show up in person again at a later date to pick up. However, I am happy to report that you can now file an Open Records Request online at https://www.meadeky.gov/275/Open-Records-Request

Regardless, these Open Records Requests are after the fact ... after decisions have been made and votes have been taken. Our local government can and must do better!