To the Editor:

I was very saddened to see the cartoon in the Morgan County Citizen regarding transparency at the Morgan County Board of Commissioners.

As far as I am aware the B.O.C. meet on the first Tuesdays of each month at 10 a.m. in the morning, with work sessions taking place on the third Tuesdays of each month at 6 p.m. Both meetings are open to the public and you can raise any question there. I myself on various occasions have attended the Tuesday meeting and at no time did I see anything but transparency.

I have also noted that Ellen Warren runs regular public meetings for her own District 4, where members of the public can come along, receive information and ask questions. I also note that you can contact your county commissioner and ask them for a private meeting if you have an issue you wish to discuss. On their Web site, found at http://www.morganga.org/CommissionersOffice/tabid/54/Default.aspx, as well as a list of the current county commissioners, they have a calendar showing meeting dates and the opportunity to download minutes and agendas.

So, I do not see where this lack of transparency comes from, unless the cartoonist is referring to executive meetings that are closed to the public.

If there is a complaint about a lack of transparency, then you only need look at the Hospital Board at Morgan Memorial Hospital. I do not understand why, if the board of Education can be elected, then why is the Hospital Board appointed? If the board is making decisions regarding Morgan Memorial and if they require current or future funding be it in grants or loans by the county to maintain their operational budget, as a result of those decisions, then to my mind, all hospital board members, should be elected by the citizens of Morgan County. I have no issue with board members being selected by a criteria to qualify for their position, but it should only be right for the public to see what that criteria is and make their vote accordingly. The Hospital Board Authority members can be found at http://www.mmh.org/AuthorityBoard.htm.

The Board of Commissioners are subject to the will of the people, the Hospital Board is not. I will leave it to readers to decide, once they visit the respective Web sites, as to which board is more directly accountable to the community in Morgan County.

Andrew Simpson
Newborn
Via e-mail