Valerie Stamey. Ring a bell? She still owes over $17K for fraud in South Carolina from several years back. Her pals, our county commissioners, hired her because they liked her “attitude” (never mind qualifications or experience). They paid her a hefty salary, $1000 per week which is way above the Ravalli County average, while she didn’t do her job. When it got so bad that the county was threatened with lawsuits, they sent her home. But continued to pay her anyway. All the while paying somebody else to do her job and also to straighten out the mess she left. After paying her $30K to stay home, they sued her for $29K to cover losses and lawsuits caused by her. So she skipped town. Now the commissioners act all hurt and want to pay somebody to track her down. Then what? More lawsuits? More legal expenses? Good luck with that.
Pat yourselves on the back, Ravalli County. You voted these people into office. The incompetence and stupidity of this group of comms, along with the last batch, has run up fines, settlements and giveaways of over $1M. And they’re going to raise your property taxes to pay for it.
And they don’t have to listen to you either. The structure of county government is such that this little “group of 5” can do whatever they damn well please. Think not? How about the airport plan? Legacy Ranch subdivision? Floodplain/flood fringe regulations? The list goes on. There’s no oversight, little recourse. Talk about “broken government.”
The Local Government Study Commission wants to hear from you. Or are you freedom and democracy loving patriotic citizens steadfast in wanting to exercise your right to minority rule by an oligarchy?
Mark Van Loon
Hamilton