PORCH PONDERINGS

Paper and Preaching

More drama, as promised. But never fear, NormaJean is on the job.

Seems the editor of the local paper didn't get my submission for this week's edition. I swear I sent it to her. She swears she didn't get it. And this is irritating. I have some fans in town of my little piece in the paper. "Seen Around Town". Get it? Roundup - Around? Well, anyway, she is also the one who told me I couldn't submit news from city council meetings. And that makes some of my 'fans' upset, freedom of the press and all. Then she recanted that statement and told me I could indeed print the meetings, but she would add a disclaimer.

So the real problem to some is the lag time on the city posting info on their website. They have a city council meeting, and then are to post the minutes. Okay, well, I just checked and the last minutes posted for the public are from June 26. JUNE! A person called me several weeks ago asking ME when the city pool opens for the summer. They tried to find the city council minutes, but couldn't. When I checked that day, in June, the minutes were at least 4 weeks behind.

When I reported on the meetings, I posted a small little blurb the next week. Nothing major. Just a synopsis of the meeting. The mayor got her feathers ruffled. She complained to the editor of the paper. I think I wrote a BLOG about this. So I'll just tuck this little 'I didn't get your submission' into my 'things that irritate me this week' edition of my life.

Another thing that happened this week was a public meeting of the board the the senior center. It was called an 'emergency' meeting and the public was invited. I will publish a sanitized version of this in the paper. Here it is:

The Musselshell County Council on Aging held an emergency board meeting on July 14 at 12:30 PM. This was immediately following the Monday’s noon meal.

At that time they voted on changing the frequency of the congregate meals at the senior center on Second Street West. The governing board of six, head by Bob G., voted to change from five days a week to three. Effective immediately, the meal schedule is Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. There will be accommodations made for those supplied with Meals On Wheels per the board.

A reason for the change, according to the board, is a lack of funds. According to the board, this change has been needed for some time. The previous schedule change to a five day schedule has consumed funds. Changing back to three days a week will be a schedule to save funds that are dwindling.

Citizens in attendance raised questions about the lack of funds, the withholding of funds, and the audit that is now required.

An audit is required by the state and Area II Agency on Aging for this program to continue. Per the board, “An audit will reinforce the facts.” Musselshell County Council on Aging is currently looking for an accounting firm to perform the specialized audit that is preferred.

When questioned about who will pay for the audit, the answer was ‘private funds’.

The MCCoA board also states they want Area II to grant an extension until the actual audit is done. They feel that the program is important enough to the citizens of Roundup for the monies to continue without interruption.

A citizen inquired about MCCoA’s sustainability factor. They didn’t know for sure. The program could last until the end of July, or perhaps the end of August. “It is not up to us anymore.”

Again, drama. There was an incident where two men almost came to blows, but luckily one of the persons left the space. One of the board members stood and shouted loyalty her religious beliefs. Well, that got my antenna up. You should not as a board member of a non-profit preach. Separation of church and state applies here. They are supported by the state and get state monies.

This problem is something discussed in the county commissioner's meetings on Friday. I attend those meetings, and we sometimes discuss this issue. So, to be clear, the county owns the building the senior center operates from. The county pays the utilities for this building. The senior center pays rent as a tenant. The county has no jurisdiction over this program. This program is under contract with the state of Montana.

There could be financial mismanagement and administrative mismanagement. Time will tell. But unfortunately, the people hurt in all this will be some who can least afford the injury.

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