Library Funding Deserves Sunlight, Not Spin

When Supervisor Jamieson gave his 20-minute PowerPoint lecture last night at the Board of Supervisors meeting, did he really think people were going to buy it?  It seemed more like a guilty conscience desperately trying to legitimize the corrupt actions of the Board of Supervisors regarding the Library defunding.  While we had to sit through it in silence, I simultaneously wanted to laugh and scream.

Jamieson went on and on about ‘fiscal transparency’.  The same board that hijacked nearly a million dollars a year from Shenandoah Farms POA/Sanitary District, defunded the POA, and refused to offer any transparency for years on where the money was spent.

The same Board that last night, in the same meeting, HID their latest transfer of appropriated funds from the Library to the School Board and Economic Development!

If you read this agenda item:

‘Resolution – Amending Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget and Appropriating funds for Warren County, Virginia’

Did you know that $ 229,000 was transferred last night from the Library funds?  NO

If you read the meeting minutes afterwards, when there was zero discussion about transferring $229,000 from the Library funds, would you know that the transfer was made last night?  NO

Apparently, that is Supervisor Jamieson’s definition of ‘fiscal transparency’.

All the PowerPoint slides in the world will not make it so.

At the BOS meeting on August 19th, those transfers of Library appropriated funds got a public hearing.  But it got so much push-back from the people of this county, last night they had to hide more transfers with vague language under the Consent Agenda – no public hearing – and no mention of it in the meeting.  And a 20-minute PowerPoint to try to whitewash it.

‘Financial Transparency’ – I don’t think so!!

(And to make it more unclear, there were two versions of the agenda handed out.  Apparently, the resolution to transfer the last of the Library-appropriated funds (I believe making it the first library in the country to be fully defunded by its local government) was added to the agenda at the last minute, and some of the original agendas without that resolution were mistakenly included.

Early Voting starts on Friday.  Tell Supervisor Jamieson what you think about his ‘Financial Transparency’ by voting for the Save Samuels endorsed candidates: Hugh Henry, Tony Carter, Shane Boswell, Sara Jones, and George Cline.

We need your bipartisan support to save our Library.  They are not listening to our voices – they will have to listen to our votes!

Kathleen Mancini
Warren County, VA

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