County can’t afford to waste more money
There’s no need to get a ruling from a judge. The way county commissioners have handled expansion plans for Warren County Jail is almost criminal.
The latest news coming from the Warren County Commission is that current jail architect Jim Armstrong is in trouble. He’s in so much trouble, commissioners are going to push for his termination if he doesn’t present them with a complete set of jail blueprints in about two weeks.
The only thing surprising about the situation is how quickly commissioners have lost faith in Armstrong. From the start, it didn’t seem to be a question of if this would happen, but when it would happen.
And that’s not to say Jim Armstrong isn’t a fine individual who has done quality work for the county in the past. But the fact he had never designed a jail before had to draw an immediate red flag. Unfortunately, the red flag was apparent to most everyone but the county commission.
And speaking of commissioners, and the way they have continuously botched this much-needed jail expansion, they deserve nothing less than a flat F. If Armstrong is in fact terminated, the county would have lost close to $200,000 in taxpayer dollars paying jail architects which didn’t pan out. Reviewing the facts, and the wasted tax dollars, is almost painful.
• The county paid its first jail architect, Mark Rodgers, $70,000 for jail designs and various consulting services. County commissioners disputed most of the advice given by Rodgers despite the fact he has successfully designed a number of Tennessee jails. To the Standard’s knowledge, no one on the county commission has ever designed a jail.
• After firing Rodgers and trying to weasel out of the money the county owed him, commissioners decided to do a smart thing. They formed a Jail Oversight Committee to hear jail presentations and hand pick an architect who would better serve the county’s needs.
After countless special meetings which forced the county to pay commissioners close to $2,000 in extra fees, the Jail Oversight Committee made its recommendation to the full county commission.
That recommendation was swiftly rejected in favor of Armstrong. This was done for the sole reason that Armstrong is a “good ol’ boy” known by many county commissioners. While that’s fine and dandy, being a “good ol’ boy” doesn’t cut it when it comes to designing a jail. Now, after over $100,000 in fees, Armstrong is on the verge of being terminated.
If this happens, anyone who is a Warren County taxpayer should be outraged. County commissioners are throwing away hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars like a kid pumping quarters into a jukebox. The only problem is we’re not dancing to this version of “Jailhouse Rock.”
Adding to the misfortune of the situation is this current county commission inherited this problem from the previous commission. And judging by the actions of the previous commission, there’s no wonder there was around 50 percent turnover during last year’s election.
Examining the actions of our county commission, there’s little wonder the county is in a financial bind like the rest of the state. It only serves to fuel the argument that government is bogged down with inefficiency and flooded with waste.