Commission candidate Ognio: ‘Incumbents bad stewards of public money’
Thursday, July 5, 2012 - 3:52pm
Submitted by Letters to the ...
Submitted by Letters to the ...
Have our incumbent commissioners been good stewards of the citizens’ tax dollars? In my opinion, no. Let me give an example.
On April 12, 2012 on the agenda item #5 of the consent agenda was a request to approve a bid of $98,000 for the architectural services for the new Tyrone fire station.
Looking closer at the information supplied, there was a bid of $48,000 to do this work.
The fire department stated that they reached a consensus on the top four proposals and they were invited to make presentations.
Why was the company that was the awarded contractor invited, they being #8 in the bid list going from lowest to the highest?
I did some research and found that the lowest bidder is an architect that lives in the county and has his business in the county. To find an example of his work you can look at the Town Square Jewelers in the center of Fayetteville.
This was not a good decision. It cost the citizens $50,000 extra. Plus, it took a job away from a Fayette County citizen. This type of decision is why they raise our taxes. If it was a home project for one of the incumbent commissioners, would they have spent the extra $50,000 if it was coming out of their pocket? I would bet not.
Some of the other candidates running for office are very good speakers but do not address the specific problems of the county. They speak in general about values, but there are no facts to back up their words. Some of them signed up with the Fayette County Republican Party just about the same time they qualified for the election.
Why were they not already members? Do they really have Republican values? What do we know about these people? They are asking the citizens to vote for them so they can represent the citizens? How do the citizens know a candidate will represent them?
There are candidates that have been involved in both the Fayette County Republican Party and the commission meetings. It is easy to see what we stand for. Just look back through the minutes of the commission meeting. Ask citizens that have come to the commission meeting. Look at the commission meeting videos put on YouTube by one of the candidates.
David Barlow has spent a lot of time trying to show the citizens the things that are happening because of the incumbents. Yes, these videos were done by this candidate without any charge to the citizens, working hard for the citizens. We both want what is best for the county and hope we can count on your support.
My message to the citizens is please research the candidates and vote July 31st. Better yet, vote early on July 9th. Visit my website and learn more about me www.ognioforcommissioner.com.
Please check it out.
Randy C. Ognio
Candidate for Commissioner Post 3
Fayette County, Ga.
Wed, 07/25/2012 - 9:43pm
#2
Too few bids too often
I've been to countless commission meetings where the commissioners fail to agree on getting competitive bids, evidently turning a deaf ear to their deposed leader, Jack Smith's "more bang for the buck" slogan. When that phrase was coined for the county, reference was made to the West Fayetteville Bypass, the most unpopular project ever in Fayette County. You might say that the West Bypass is what they consider to be "bang for the buck." I've heard them use that phrase over and over. Why not more competitiv bidding? The holdover commissioners offer some excuse such as "The Chisel-Scoot Company has been a good contractor, they have actual experience doing the work, and we don't want to get a new contractor in there that doesn't know what he's doing.
Steve Brown has fought this attitude supporting lack of competition tooth and nail, with Commissioner McCarty's support, but they always get voted down 3 to 2. Not mentioning any company names, there are "favorite sons" getting the lion's share of transportation study and engineering contracts that could be bid out for much less money.
I've watched Mr. Ognio give public comments many, many times. I get the impression that if he were elected commissioner, he would try and run the county like a business, which he has and is doing successfully. It is easy to look at the slipshod way the county business has been conducted, and from that, it's even easier to determine why the holdover commissioners don't want a businessman's input to gain a foothold on future county business activities.
Let's face it...Randy Ognio would have to be better than any one of the "three in solidarity" commissioners. He couldn't be any worse.
Wed, 07/25/2012 - 10:23pm
#3
pips
. Not mentioning any company names, there are "favorite sons" getting the lion's share of transportation study and engineering contracts that could be bid out for much less money.
Why not name them Pippy?
Sat, 07/07/2012 - 7:39am
#4
Ognio knows what he's talking about
I've known Mr. Ognio for years. This is a man who knows what it takes to make a business go, and what hard work is. Years ago I heard him say that if he ran his company the way the commissioners were running Fayette County, he would soon be out of business. And ever since then, he has been making astute observations on forthcoming BOC meeting agendas. He is the type of person who doesn't know what a 40 hour work week is. He works long hours at his successful electrical business, and meets the typical "self made man" definition of "the first person to get there, and the last to leave." Unlike some commissioners, Mr. Ognio respects to the utmost the individual dignity of each person he meets, and has earned the respect of those who know him. I am confident that Mr. Ognio's input to the budget planning process as a commissioner would give Fayette County "more bang for the buck."
Thu, 07/05/2012 - 10:01pm
#5
Sounds like a legitimate issue...
What say you commissioners who approved of the expenditure?
Thu, 07/05/2012 - 7:57pm
#6
Incumbents Are Bad Stewards Of Public Money
What exactly did the people of Fayette County get for that extra $50,000?
The lowest bidder was a local architect and the incumbent commissioners approved the third highest bidder at $50,000 more than the lowest bidder?
This kind of local government has been going on entirely too long in Fayette County!
Mr. Ognio is quite right about some of the other candidates running for the office of commissioner. Two candidates in particular are well poised and present themselves in a very articulate manner.
However, at the commission candidate debate in Fayetteville, neither of those candidates addressed any issue with facts and figures. There comments were very general in nature and seemed as if they were being read from a script. I have been told that one of the candidates was seen meeting for lunch with a former commissioner who opposes other candidates. What was that about? Was the female candidate being coached by that former commissioner before the debate?
The issues that face the citizens and our local government are the issues that should be addressed. Candidates should be able to back up their points with facts.
Mr. Ognio always provides facts as examples to his statements concerning county issues. I admire that in Mr. Ognio.
Thu, 07/05/2012 - 8:50pm
#7
Ginga
Way to continue the Steve Brown assault with innuendo and half truths, he must be real proud of you. Funny how you talk about facts here in your letter, yet offer none yourself.
The Smith and Frady administrations love to spend more than they bring in ... looking forward to much better days after the July 31 election!