Oddo, Barlow trade volleys with Brown over adding agenda items
The rift between some members of the Fayette County Board of Commissioners was made very obvious and very public at last week’s regular meeting.
Chairman Charles Oddo and Commissioner David Barlow made no attempt to hide their contempt for recent actions of Commissioner Steve Brown, who requested that several items be placed on the agenda for that meeting.
Barlow made frequent sarcastic and biting remarks about how the meeting — the public portion of which was about four and a half hours — was lengthened by issues Brown brought to the board improperly, without first consulting county staff or the legal department.
His displeasure came to a head at the end of the meeting, during the regular commissioner comment time, when he specifically made a point to encourage Oddo for “hanging in there” amid recent friction with Brown.
“He’s still bitter at not being chairman,” said Barlow, who leaves office in five months.
Oddo read a lengthy prepared statement during the discussion of the board’s practice of submitting appointments to the Hospital Authority. Brown had previously questioned Oddo’s decision to withdraw his name from consideration for a reappointment to his position on the authority, stating that a commissioner should be on that body.
Oddo said that was Brown’s preference but never the official position of the Board of Commissioners. He also spent considerable time addressing Brown’s actions during the process, which he said were the epitome of “backdoor politics,” citing a phrase Brown has used often to characterize the actions of Oddo and others.
Brown maintained that he felt it vital to have a commissioner on the Hospital Authority, which is responsible for some $85 million in bonds for various projects that demand exceptional accountability. He said that Oddo should have informed his colleagues immediately upon his decision to withdraw.
Darrell McKinney, vice chairman of the Hospital Authority and a member since it was formed in 2000, read a statement at the meeting on behalf of his board. He said it is “imperative that our work is ethical, transparent and legal” and that “we have never been involved in local politics.”
McKinney noted that the authority is not obligated by law to appoint a county commissioner. The authority makes all of its own appointments, with the commissioners submitting three names for each open slot. The authority selects one of those names or can tell the commissioners to submit more names.
According to Oddo, he and one other incumbent member up for reappointment were placed in the same group of three nominees for a single seat. That meant only one incumbent could be named, so Oddo decided to withdraw.
The selection committee consisted of Brown and Barlow along with Scott Wolfe, chief financial officer of Piedmont Fayette Hospital. Brown has contended that Lavonia Stepherson, who was reappointed to the Hospital Authority in July, should have been named to only the McIntosh Trail Community Service Board.
On an earlier agenda item in last Thursday’s meeting Brown moved to deny her appointment to the McIntosh board, although that attempt failed and she was approved. Brown said that with a wealth of talent in the county there is no need for anyone to serve on multiple boards.
McKinney said the Hospital Authority “does not take lightly any comments that cast aspersions on our work or our process. Our meetings are always open and we encourage the public and elected officials to attend. In my 16 years we have never had an executive session.”
Oddo began his comments by calling Brown’s actions “a scathing condemnation of me and, by association, the Hospital Authority, all of the applicants and the hospital.”
The integrity of the Board of Commissioners was called into question by Brown’s actions, Oddo said, and the chairman apologized to everyone for what he said were Brown’s purely political deeds.
“This is another example of what happens when one commissioner is allowed to dictate the agenda,” said Oddo. “He has five items on here tonight, and not one of them did he seek staff input or county attorney input for.”
Oddo accused Brown of manipulating the appointment process and doing the exact thing he frequently accuses Oddo of doing.
After his statement, Oddo made a motion to close the discussion but Brown objected.
“If you’re going to put a target out there, be man enough to face it,” said Brown.
“You make your comments behind people’s backs,” Barlow fired back, alleging that Brown comments in various blogs anonymously using two different fictitious names.
Brown said that everything was done by the selection committee as a whole, not by him personally, and that he told Oddo directly of his wish to have a commissioner on the authority. Oddo did not dispute that statement.
“I think we need to have representation on these boards, because we have a fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers,” said Brown, adding that he learned of Oddo’s decision to withdraw at a public event on a weekend from another source.
“If you want to pull out after committing to do something, that’s your prerogative. It’s also my prerogative to get mad about it,” said Brown.
The discussion was closed shortly after that comment.
A separate vote on a bond resolution involving the Hospital Authority passed unanimously at an earlier point in the meeting. Brown said he would vote for it albeit hesitantly.
As for Stepherson, Commissioner Randy Ognio moved earlier in the meeting to deny her appointment to the McIntosh Trail Community Service Board to fill an unexpired term lasting about a year. She was the only citizen to apply for the position, and Ognio said the county typically re-advertises a board opening when that happens.
All of the commissioners, including Brown and Ognio, agreed that she was perfectly suited for this seat, but both of them maintained that she should not serve on multiple boards.
“We have an incredible amount of human capital in Fayette County,” said Brown. “When you have that level of talent you don’t want to deny them and give duplicate positions to people. In recent years we have spread it out geographically, racially and by expertise, and I’m proud of our efforts.”
Barlow disagreed, saying the board could appoint someone else in a year if it so chose. “The McIntosh board needs her leadership,” he said.
Oddo noted that Brown’s desire is not the board’s policy, and he has always looked to find the best person available regardless of other commitments.
Commissioner Charles Rousseau was reluctant to penalize Stepherson for being the only person to apply and doing it correctly.
Ognio’s motion failed by a 3-2 vote, and Barlow’s motion to approve the appointment passed by the same margin.
