CHAMBER UPDATE!!!!

Latest information. . . .

The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce now says that all taxpayer money received was via Cape Fear Futures, a separate 501c3 ,and as such they are not required to provide ANY financials for public inspection of their operations.

They are in the process of providing all financial related to Cape Fear Futures as of this writing.

This creates a series of additional questions. .  . . but it IS a start!

Comm. Barfield, Taxpayer Expense And Father’s Legacy

There is no doubt that the entirety of the methodology behind Commisisoner Barfield’s Quixotic quest to keep the incinerator alive and well is all about dad.  His dad, then a commissioner in the early 80s, helped create Wastec and Jonathan wants to keep it going.

Like most folks, I’m a big fan of dads, I have an amazing one myself, love the guy, but I wouldn’t force taxpayers into a 50% increase in their waste disposal to protect his legacy.  In fact, if I was honoring him, I’d probably figure out a way to bring down the cost of business for folks.

But Commissioner Barfield has long lamented the now aged and useless incinerator known as Wastec.  He has blamed previous boards for lack of upkeep and he has done all he can to figure out a way to keep this aged idea going in spite of a flurry of reasons to let it go.

In the end, when Barfield decided to oppose Titan due to air quality issues and support Wastec without air quality issues, it became more about dad than you and I.

(Port City Daily) “Not only will we comply with the new permit requirements, we will continue to seek ways to further reduce the emissions,” said Barfield. “But that is nothing new—as the facility has a long history of operating below permitted levels. “If this is truly a community concern,” he added, “then we can also all take responsibility for preventing dioxins from entering the waste stream in the first place.”

If he really believed such things, he would apply the same logic to Titan, which he won’t.  It’s time to let this one go Commissioner Barfield.  There are numerous solutions and new technologies that make this incinerator a relic not a solution.

StarNews Questions Accountability, Ignores Chamber’s Defiance

The StarNews editorial page had a good time picking on the honorables in Raleigh for keeping companies that break workman’s compensation laws away from public view.  Their final summation is worth mentioning:

But this is the type of information that also should be shared with the public. If companies are cheating and the state isn’t doing its job, then that really is the people’s business.

Good point, but one has to ask why the same editorial board is ignoring the local Chamber of Commerce being unable to comply with state law requiring their audited financial statements to be available for public inspection.  If the StarNews is to avoid charges of hypocrisy or covering up, then they should apply their editorial prowess to the Chamber as well.

The Chamber, after all, is using taxpayer dollars and avoiding public scrutiny.  C’mon StarNews, let me paraphrase your final bit:

But this is the type of information that also should be shared with the public, (since they are paying for it). If (the Chamber is) cheating and the (StarNews) isn’t doing its job, then that really is the people’s business.

Hmm. . . Maybe the StarNews doesn’t like the transparency laws when it applies to groups they agree with or maybe they don’t like it because the law was written by Rep. Carolyn Justice so that we measly taxpayers will have at least some idea where our taxpayer dollars are going.