The LEDC meets today and they will be discussing some big numbers – millions of dollars – when it comes to their ill-fated ‘business’ park.
I’ve recently been thinking about how this group has gotten away with being such a massive failure and waster of tax dollars for at least a decade now with ZERO repercussions.
Not only are there no negative repercussions, but they are allowed to keep throwing millions in good money after bad.
I think the problem is obvious: we have a very incestuous group that is essentially policing themselves and judging their own performance.
To wit…
TJ Monroe AND Misti Talbert have been sitting on the LEDC board AND City council concurrently for the last six years (Talbert) and nearly NINE years (Monroe).
Misti only just left City council very recently. Considering her long association and obvious friendship with Monroe and council, she should still be considered essentially a member there. She is one of the “group”.
The LEDC exists at the discretion of City council. By my understanding of the rules, City council has the power to dissolve the LEDC whenever they want.
[If I am wrong about that, please feel free to correct me at my email address at lampasshole@protonmail.com]
Considering Talbert and Monroe were/are members of BOTH groups, this makes for a very incestuous situation with ZERO checks and balances: what are the chances that Monroe and Talbert would sit on City council and decide to dissolve the LEDC – an organization they are ALSO members of – for mismanagement?
They are essentially judging their own performance.
The LEDC also appoints their own board members, so it is the same group of idiots re-appointing each other over and over in a giant six-million-dollar circle jerk. In addition to Monroe, Neal Leavell, Ronnie Vineyard and Roland Schaub have ALSO been there since at LEAST 2013 – as far back as their records go.
So for 8.5 years (and the bulk of the profligate spending and mismanagement) we have had Leavell, Vineyard, Schaub and Monroe calling the shots. Talbert has been there since at least October of 2015.
During that SAME period, TJ Monroe and Misti Talbert sat on City council and Talbert was mayor from 2017 through 2021 – and Monroe is mayor NOW.
Furthermore…
The LEDC also has NO written policy about conflict of interest and NO written policy about document destruction.
These are facts taken from their non-profit tax filings.
Add all this up and you have a very small, insulated group of people who have proven themselves to be in WAY over their heads and who are handling LARGE amounts of tax dollars but who don’t see any problems because they police themselves.
I humbly ask the newer members of City council to at least mull this over. At the very LEAST, I believe TJ Monroe should be removed from the LEDC board for conflict of interest. She cannot fairly judge the performance of an organization which she simultaneously oversees AND is a member of.