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Friday, March 22, 2019 was a red-letter day in Florence, Alabama. On this day the Lauderdale Luminary enjoyed the high honor and distinct privilege of basking in an aura of greatness as the Lauderdale County Ag Center Authority Board convened to pontificate about its raison d'être, the unneeded and widely unwanted Ag Center. The greatness in the magnitude of unmitigated presumption, indifference, and ineptitude on brazen display was truly awe inspiring as the Board Chairman gaveled the meeting of this august body to order ten minutes late, piously announcing that the Board would not be taking questions from the public at this particular meeting because the purpose of the meeting was simply to inform the public of the Authority's future plans and to reiterate that the Board was still developing procedural policies. Wow! Seems like the cart comes perpetually before the horse with this group. To extend this equine metaphor, the Board then trotted out its architect to present a multi-media dog and pony show extolling the virtues and glamour of this glittering monument to political hubris.
Ironically, although the Board would take no questions, one of its members gave a report at the outset of the meeting that indirectly answered one question foremost in the Lauderdale Luminary's mind. The member reported that he was in discussions with a local accounting firm being considered to provide auditing services and to manage payrolls when the Authority begins to hire staff. The logical inference then is that the operations of the Authority and its governing board WILL NOT be subject to routine annual audits by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts (ALDEPA) as so many local agencies and boards are. This gives the clear appearance that the two state legislators who sit on this board have wielded undue influence to gain this exemption from ALDEPA audits. Furthermore, any accounting firm that observes the rules of the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy (ASBPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) would know that any licensed CPA firm is barred from providing services such as accounting for payrolls and then engaging in an audit that includes those same records for that same entity, as the board member's report seemed to suggest.
Insofar as ALDEPA is under the control of the Alabama State Legislature, the Alabama State Ethics Commission, an entity that seems to function more as a political weapon than as a guardian of public trust, ought to take an interest in the operations of this Board and whether two of its members who are also state legislators are wielding undue influence in order to avoid public scrutiny. Even so, it would seem that the die is cast. Even if Melson and Greer are voted out of office, it will come too late. This boondoggle project is a fait accompli that will provide the Shoals with yet another white elephant for its trophy case. It will be a far bigger tax money pit than the ill conceived Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Just sit back and enjoy being robbed, raped, and ignored. And if you voted for these clowns, don't have the audacity to complain when your child's school is consolidated because of the funds this Board and these legislators have siphoned from school district revenues to fund this "Authority"!
