Chairman
Report From Our Chairman:
We Are All Responsible For What Our Government Does
Happy birthday Florence County Citizens in Action!! We are five year s old and have over two hundred members. This is quite an accomplishment, considering our humble beginnings. We started with ten determined people who felt that a citizen watchdog group was urgently needed for Florence County. Now with over a hundred members we are steadily growing. We have been very successful in bringing issues concerning Florence County before the public. These issues pertain to one of our stated goals — more open government in Florence County. Note Photo: Open Government Award in lieu of Outstanding Citizen Award.
The people of Florence County are aware of these issues because of presentations before Florence County Council and media interaction. Mamie Gray appeared before Council asking that an open forum be considered to allow citizens easier access when addressing council. Council never responded to Mrs. Gray. Bette Cox appeared before council to request evening meetings to make it easier for working people to attend council meetings. Two quarterly evening meetings were scheduled. The result was a heavy turnout by citizens. We hope that more evening meetings will be scheduled. Jack Nettles appeared before council twice addressing the misuse of the infrastructure/discretionary funds. Council did not respond to either address. I held a press conference on the steps of the City/County Complex and asked for reform of the infrastrcture/discretionay funds and that the budget be balanced with the rollover monies languishing in the accounts. There was no response from Florence County Council. The budget was balanced by increasing the Road Maintenance Fee from $15 to $30. However, the response from the public has been overwhelming. The people consider these issues important, they want change, and don’t understand the attitude of county council. People want more information and there is a constant stream of visitors to our website. There is also the response of increased membership. Because we are a nonprofit organization with limited funds, we have done virtually no advertising. Our yearly dues are only $10.00 to insure that any citizen can afford to join. Despite the lack of advertising, our membership continues to grow. We doubled our membership at our first organizational meeting. By December 2002 we had over fifty members. By July 2003 we had over 100 members. I expect we will have over 200 members in the next six months. We had reason to believe that, in the beginning, Florence County Council would ignore our small group. We based this assumption on the fact that two of the founding members, Mamie Gray and Bill Hoffmeyer had been a watchdog group of two for many years. They faithfully attended almost every council meeting and valiantly tried to bring issues before the public. Unfortunately, County Council systematically ignored them. We thought council would acknowledge the voice of a larger group, but we were wrong. The 100 + membership of FCCIA is a countywide cross section. Each council district is represented. We are a microcosm of the population. We are the people the council members were elected to serve. We are the voice of the people the council members were elected to hear. We will continue to attend council meetings, we will continue to bring concerns before council and the people, and we will continue to grow. We will not give up until positive changes occur because, in a Democracy, we are all responsible for what our government does. If you agree that we are all responsible for what our government does, we invite you to join FCCIA. You may join on line or by mail to: PO Box 4918, Florence, SC 29502. Let us know your name, address, and phone number.
Lou Vause, Chairman
Florence County Citizens In Action