Feels Billingsley conflict is personal
I read and re-read the article regarding the Board of Supervisors intention to replace the County Administrator, wondering if I missed something the first time.
I realize that the intention to remove the Administrator is considered a personnel matter, and so any information released by the board at this time would be claiming they won’t discuss it due to that reason. After reading the article a couple of times, and still not seeing a reason that made sense, I came to the personal conclusion that this is a personality conflict, and not a professional one, and that no proof has been provided that he has been inefficient in his job.
It doesn’t appear that Mr. Billingsley has been accused of any wrong doing in his duties, or someone would have mentioned it. If there has been no problem with his job performance, and this is personal, then it makes me wonder if our leaders are considering what is best for the county in other areas, or are they just doing business with people they owe favors.
Mr. Hairston is a first time supervisor with no elected political experience. Why he is able to bring forth such a major change to the county without any evidence of professional wrongdoing smacks of the good ole boy system at work. If there was any misconduct or insubordination, he should have at least been suspended first. This is not the time for such changes to be made. Our whole country is in the middle of a crisis. We need to rely on experienced, level heads to get us through it. It would seem that the Board of Supervisors is lacking that quality if they continue on with this intent to remove a vital member of our county administration at this time.
I never thought I would ever 100% agree with Leroy Brooks, but his statement that replacing Mr. Billingsley during this national crisis not being a smart decision is probably the most logical thing I can remember him saying in a while. Mr. Brooks and Mr. Hairston are the most experienced and the least experienced supervisor on the board at this time. Personally, I feel better with the most experienced one leading a major decision of change.
Carol Anne Beard
Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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