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not welcome
on this board
Columbus County residents should be plenty upset that a majority of the county commmissioners voted to stifle debate among commissioners at meetings by allowing comment only on agenda items.
Taken at face value, this action appears to be an attempt by commissioners Jacobs, Memory, McKenzie and Norris to keep commmissioners Prevatte, Gore and Bullard from rocking the boat during meetings.
How odd that the community is allowed to comment about anything it chooses before the close of a meeting but commissioners apparently are not.
No one is exactly sure if the measure is in effect for the next meeting because there are supposed to be two readings of policy changes before a vote, but a 4-3 vote to stifle comment passed Monday night.
Nevertheless, it appears that debate and dissent aren’t welcome among the four who form a bloc to control the board.
The motion to limit debate is downright undemocratic and unacceptble. We thought the debate of issues is what public meetings are for.
Apparently not.
If we were commissioners Prevatte, Gore and Bullard, we wouldn’t take this power play lying down. They have a responsiblity to speak for their constituents. No one could tell me I’m not allowed to do that.