THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 8, 1994 TAG: 9409080515
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ACCOMAC LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Taunted by the jeers of openly skeptical citizens, the Accomack County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to abolish a $252,505 discretionary fund from which members made disbursements on their own without a vote.
The fund came under criticism this week by the Accomack County Taxpayers Association. The group released a report that showed that the nine supervisors spent tax money, without board approval, on everything from private road repairs to church donations.
The state attorney general's office has ordered State Police to investigate the board's discretionary spending.
Members of the watchdog group packed the county boardroom Wednesday, expecting the issue to be put off until another meeting. But some supervisors were eager to deal with problem immediately.
``The perception of impropriety is worse than the actual impropriety,'' said Supervisor Kenneth Tucker.
Tucker said the board needed to resolve the issue quickly and move on to other business, like a plan for solid waste disposal or the upgrading the county's school system.
Supervisor Paul Merritt of Chincoteague said he opposed any plan to abolish the current level of discretionary funding. He was criticized by the taxpayers association for buying a personal computer with money from the fund, and for using more than $17,000 to pave Chincoteague roads.
Those roads were earlier described as town thoroughfares, but Chincoteague officials said Wednesday they were private roads.
``If you're going to let 20 or 30 people run this Board of Supervisors, we might as well quit,'' said Merritt, referring to the membership of the taxpayers association.
``Good!'' shouted someone in the audience, and the boardroom exploded into applause.
After about an hour of discussion, the board voted to rescind the April and July 1993 votes that established the fund. Most of the money was returned to a pool for drainage projects.
The board also voted to freeze any further discretionary spending, which they limited to $1,800 per year per supervisor, until after the State Police investigation is complete.
Chairwoman Laura Belle Gordy apologized for any mistakes that she and the other board members might have made.
``I'm willing to start doing things right,'' said Gordy. ``I felt we were without guidelines, and I feel that every one of us did what we did in good faith.''
It was Gordy who wrote a $25 check from the fund to Rep. Herb Bateman's campaign. But, she explained Wednesday, she thought better of that contribution and voided the check before it was cashed.
The taxpayers association characterized the discretionary kitty as ``a slush fund arbitrarily dispensed'' by each supervisor. It had recommended that discretionary spending be eliminated altogether.
KEYWORDS: ACCOMACK COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS by CNB