If you are a reader of this newspaper that also regularly tunes in when the latest episode of the Fisher County Commissioners Court is broadcast from the courthouse each month, you know this week was another popcorn-fest that viewers have come to love. Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our unprofessionalism.
While the court’s meetings have only been available to view online for the past couple of years, the turbulence among Fisher County officials has been well-documented, gracing the pages of this newspaper and its ancestors for over 115 years. Heated debates within the Fisher County Courthouse are practically tradition, especially during budget season.
I’m sure this was on the mind of my predecessor, who retired with a grin as I sat down at the editor’s desk, and the officials began removing their gloves for August budget talks. That was 2015, and except for the often-direct Fisher County Sheriff J.A. Robinson who I recall writing it as used “colorful language” to express his discontent with the commissioners before walking out of those budget talks, the first years were mild by comparison.
That year, officials could pretty much agree they all hated Fisher County Judge Ken Holt, who proposed major budget cuts across departments and scorched plenty of feet during those spending reduction efforts. By the end of the following year, most officials agreed they weren’t happy with District Judge Glen Harrison’s decision to deny the county’s request to combine the treasurer and auditor’s departments, instead appointing Fisher County Auditor Becky Mauldin to her current position.
Auditor Mauldin has proven formidable in the role and has crossed swords with most departments over the years, none as often, or as publicly, as with the commissioners. A year later, Fisher County Attorney Michael Hall joined the ranks after the 2016 election, another outspoken official with years of experience.
Even though there was a transition in 2018, with almost 30 years of institutional wisdom between the incumbent commissioners, a solid financial thinker at the helm, an insulated and efficient number cruncher, and an ivy league law degree with decades of experience watching the county’s back, it should have been a combination that worked.
But it didn’t. And not only does it still not work, but it’s also so dysfunctional I’m not sure if it’s easier to clean up the muck or simply drain the tank.
The hostilities and levels of distrust between officials have not only gummed up the works of an already slow-moving government machine, but there have also been criminal charges brought and dismissed and a still-pending civil case between officials Mauldin and Commissioner Preston Martin that continues to play out on the public stage.
Meanwhile, Hall and Martin have continued to wage the same battle over road conditions and energy companies' responsibility for repairing those roads for years, both often screaming at one another, and nothing being done to resolve the seemingly legitimate complaint.
I have been listening to the exact same conversation between these two since at least 2019. It goes like this.
Martin raises the issue of how roads are being damaged by companies that have an agreement to repair and maintain those roads while they are being used. Hall tells him to tell him to provide the roads and the companies and he will look into it.
When asked about it later, Martin says he informs him. Hall says he doesn’t. Then they show up to at least one commissioners’ court meeting a quarter to yell at each other about it. In fact, one of the same road issues in the same location the two argued about on Monday was the same issue and location they were discussing in 2019 according to the notes I took when covering that meeting.
Three years. Same arguments. Little change.
There is a transitional period in everyone's life where they participate in an institution that yields similar results. It's called junior high.
When it happens in the adult world, it’s usually called divorce.
Personally, I would prefer my government to be operating with the navigational beacons of more effective than junior high and less expensive than divorce, and since we seem to have a couple with a clear case of irreconcilable differences that can’t check personal feelings at the door long enough to manage the most basic issues, maybe we should consider mediation.
The selected mediator for the position of quelling the extremes of these two personalities would need to be bold, someone with a no-nonsense attitude whose reputation precedes them. It should be a person with decades of handling complex and sometimes volatile situations with a rigid application of common-sense practices.
It’s a short list, but at the top of mine I think is a solution to problems in two counties. I wonder if Fisher and Stonewall County officials would consider an interlocal agreement.
I propose Fisher County cover the cost of Stonewall County’s much-needed second deputy, and in exchange, Stonewall County Sheriff Bill Mullen shows up to the Fisher County Courthouse once a month to snatch a knot when the kids act up.
I figure if the guy can manage the stress of dealing with state jail inspectors while hunting for an escaped inmate, I suppose deflating a couple of political egos would present more of a hassle than a challenge. Conversley, I bet every time officials fail to communicate they spend a night in the box, Fisher County might be able to grow past its wonder years