I want to thank Sharon and the Community Voice for letting us respond to the judge’s claims in the paper.
We’ve seen time and time again, that the Judge has nothing but negative things to say about our work as magistrates and continues to point us in the worst light possible because he has an agenda.
In the last section posted by the Judge, he talks about an employee he chose to work as his assistant. To put it simply, we try to hire the best employees for the county, but it’s hard for us all to effectively communicate and do our jobs when the wrong person is hired.
He also says that four magistrates control the county, however, all 7 magistrates can vote as they see fit, and we certainly don’t have secret meetings to plot against the judge or his plans.
The judge has made comments about us as magistrates, (too inappropriate to say here) including one comment in particular which includes a threat of wanting to bring a gun into a fiscal court meeting after things didn’t go his way.
How can you say you respect the fiscal court when you continue to be stubborn and make threats towards us?
Many people across the state have asked me about not only your behavior but the meetings as well. They just simply can’t believe it’s true, and I’ve even heard it be called entertaining. His behavior is not good for our county. I’ve worked with four other judges, and I’ve never had any problems, especially to the extent of constant temper tantrums.
The judge often complains about the state of the fiscal court because of financials, however, during my previous terms we’ve made substantial improvements and we’ve kept on top of essential maintenance.
In previous terms, we’ve built a new 911 dispatch center, transfer station, and acquired new land and buildings. Not to mention a new park and new equipment for the road department.
Our total county debt is $4.4 million, but $3.7 million of that is for the judicial building and the state pays for it. Our county assets are worth $40.5 million, which means our debt is only a very small percentage of the total value of our assets.
After a year and a half, what has the judge done to help Adair County?
We still don’t have basic things like bathrooms at the park. No new big businesses are coming, and the working people are paying more taxes. Our county deserves better. We need a new judge who will work with us, the magistrates, and the people.
-Billy Coffey
