Betty Dowling Letter to Florence County Voters in District 4

Dear Friend:

Your vote on November 4th is very important. On that day, you will decide who will represent you for the next four years on county council and who will be responsible for making sure YOUR tax dollars are spent wisely.

I ask for your support and vote on November 4th to become your new county council member.

Florence County is a great place to live, work, pray, and raise a family. I want to help keep it that way for our children and grandchildren. I am not seeking office for any personal advancement. I am running because I care about our community and our future.

I have served this area on the Florence Four School Board from 2005 to the present. During my service to you, I was accessible, honest, responsive, highly ethical, and I have accomplished much for our area and Florence Four Schools.

As your District 4 Florence County Council person I WILL....

....work to promote Economic Development and investment in all of Florence County, which will add to the tax base and keep property taxes low!

....work to provide an honest, effective, open government to the residents of District 4 and all of Florence County; free of any conflicts of interest.

....work to create a water commission for the protection of citizens who are at the mercy of this government's rate increases.

.....work to make better law enforcement a high priority; to protect your life and personal property rights. We need more law enforcement officers and they must be better paid. This is truly the legitimate work of government.

....work to provide honest, effective constituent service, being available every day to help residents with problems they face with the agencies of county government.

The bottom line is this...I will work for YOU!

I need YOUR vote on November 4th!

Sincerely,

Betty Dowling
Candidate for Florence County Council - District 4

Florence County Council to Spend $72,630 to Roof a Local Church

Timmonsville Boys & Girls Club

Excerpt from Florence Citizens In Action Website (http://www.florencecia.org/) :

On April 3rd, 2008 at the regularly scheduled Florence County Council meeting, the council members voted unanimously to spend $72,630 dollars of the taxpayers’ money for an expenditure that was not on the agenda. With little discussion or explanation, Mitchell Kirby proposed that each councilman join him with monies from their separate discretionary Infrastructures Funds to finance a new roof for the Boys and Girls Club located in Timmonsville.

End of Excerpt
------------------------------

Was this an honest, open form of government?

You be the judge! Read links below:

http://www.florencecia.com/2008/07/18/florence-county-council-to-spend-72630-to-roof-a-local-church/
This is a post by the Florence Citizens in Action giving the details they know about the matter.

http://www.florenceco.org/Council/Agendas/2008/04032008short_agenda.pdf
See page v and vi. No mention of a roof.

http://www.florenceco.org/Council/Agendas/2008/04032008agenda.pdf
This is the full agenda with attachments. Still no mention of a roof.

http://www.florenceco.org/Council/Minutes/2008/04032008minutes.pdf
See page 6. This is the first mention of the roof.

http://www.florenceco.org/FCVideo/Council/Council-4-3-08.wmv
Video of 04/03/2008 Council Meeting.

http://www.scattorneygeneral.org/opinions/pdf/2008/fowler%20d%20os-8622%207-28-08%20expenditure%20of%20public%20fund.pdf
SC Attorney General Henry McMaster's analysis of this issue.

Articles from http://www.scnow.com/:

http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/group_accuses_county_of_misusing_taxpayers_money/7503/

http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/-BTW_2008_05_02_0023/1504/

http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/-FMN_2008_04_29_0012/5641/
I hope you made it down here to this link because in the article it says "....while county council members are providing money to replace a leaky roof and the community will help repaint the facility, (Mitchell) Kirby said."

It should have read, "...while county council members are providing Florence County taxpayer money to replace a leaky roof and the community will help repaint the facility, Kirby said.

-------------

Was this an honest, open form of government?

Should Florence County residents been given the right to voice their opinion on this matter PRO or CON?

I want to make one thing very clear. I am NOT against helping the children that visit the Boys and Girls club! I have already been helping them by serving on the Florence Four School board since 2005. I want the children of our county to grow up safe and see them succeed by getting a good education.

I just want to know, did we spend the taxpayers money wisely? Why wasn't this put on the agenda? Goodness, everybody wants to help children. What were they afraid of? It's YOUR money! You have a right to know about the spending of taxpayer money before it happens.

Please leave your comments and let me know what you think?

Florence District Four Schools Community Breakfast

If you have not visited our schools recently, I would urge you to call the Florence District Four (Timmonsville) district office (843-346-5391 x309) and ask Annie Murray to add your name to the invitation list for our next community breakfast. You will enjoy a nice breakfast, get a tour of the school during operations and see our students in uniforms. You will see for yourself, "We are making government work for YOU". I have felt truly honored to serve along side of the Trustees of Florence District Four School Board. This work required group effort and we did the work.

So it was with much thought and prayer I decided to offer myself as a candidate for Florence County Council District #4. It does matter who you elect! Our community has been in desperate need of a candidate with courage and convictions and the ability to articulate a point of view, willing to respectfully persuade others, while understanding the limit of the authority of the office held. I will gladly bring a servant's spirit to the process and will work to give our community open, honest government that serves the best interest of all the stakeholders.