Thoughts on Misguided Governance and Cost

As the tragic assault and utter waste of limited taxpayer funds by members of the Warren County Board of Supervisors (with exception of Cheryl Cullers) continues, their early and often repeated refrain of “governance” as the justification for their initial and continued actions seems to have become nothing more than a metaphor for misrepresentation and/or breach of public trust.  At least, that is the way it translates to me when I correlate their use of that word and compare it to the irrational steps they have taken against Samuels Public Library.

One only needs to consider the actions of the majority of the Board in squandering vast amounts of time and effort to attack Samuels Library, rearranging board meetings in their capacity as “public servants” to make public comment more difficult, abdicating their direct supervisory engagement with the library by creating the Warren County Library Board as an unnecessary intermediary to deflect from their insular motives, continuing to promote the false notion that an award-winning library with a historic and stellar performance record in serving the community and meeting its fiduciary obligations as a 501(3) (C) non-profit organization deserves such an extreme and inordinate focus in their attempt to search for a “problem” that meets their predetermined solution, as well as their highly suspicious process for filling seats on the needless library board.  In addition, let us not forget their recent vote to abruptly cancel funding for the library in direct opposition to the overwhelming public support expressed at board meetings as well as taking such harmful action in the absence of all of the relative facts being considered. I could continue at length with other examples, but I will digress for now.

As substantial legal fees continue to climb on their watch, in lieu of being used to address critical community needs, such as enhancing emergency service shortfalls, the actual damage from their form of governance is exponential.  Scarce tax dollars are evaporating under their oversight, which will ultimately have to be replaced by each taxpayer at two times the cost to account for their irresponsible venture and the restoration of those hard-earned tax contributions.  In the meantime, critical community needs that could have immediately benefitted from the use of those same funds are being willfully ignored and will surely increase in cost due to the self-serving path that the majority of the Board has chosen to pursue. And yet, still, there are non-financial consequences, the legacy of their action and the time it will take to rebuild public confidence in a Board of Supervisors that will serve without personal bias as well as the unwarranted toll on the library staff and volunteers.

With the upcoming Board of Supervisors election scheduled for this November, it is time to reclaim a governing board that subscribes to actions that align with serving the community in the spirit of “We the People, For the People” as the Founding Fathers successfully envisioned and created.  The current “We Four People, For the People” cabal has shown itself to be a myopic, unacceptable, and costly substitute.

Please take time to consider voting in the primary election on or before June 17, 2025, in support of the candidates in the Happy Creek and Fork districts who have expressly voiced their commitment to restoring common-sense relations with the library (Mr. Tony Carter and Mr. Hugh Henry, respectively) as your vote is highly important.  The recently minted idea that data centers are now the most pressing threat to our community is simply a distraction to the current and ongoing costly attack on a beloved community institution and its employees, past and present that have faithfully served us since 1799.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my perspective. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Supervisor Cheryl Cullers for her pragmatic and balanced leadership in serving the community’s overall interests.

Barry Harrison
Front Royal, VA

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