Ross Gallagher Forgot Who He Works For

At the Jan 26 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee meeting Ross Gallagher sat as the formal chair of this committee.

In a previous blog I shared with you my LTAC analysis and questions which I'd hand delivered to the three commissioners on Jan 18. As I stated in my letter to the BOCC, I understood the public wouldn't be allowed to ask questions or make comments at the Jan 26 LTAC meeting. For that reason I provided my questions well in advance in order to get them answered.

I am sad to report today that at the meeting Ross Gallagher refused to ask my questions or to even ask the LTAC members to respond to my questions in writing.

Last night at the BOCC meeting I expressed my disappointment directly to Ross. He responded that it wasn't his job to ask any questions of the LTAC. He was just there to chair the committee. And a poor job he did of that. It appeared to me that a couple other members of the committee were actually running the meeting.

The one glimmer of hope in the meeting came from Teri Jeffries, Shelton Mason Chamber of Commerce. She spoke of the need for standard procedures. One lone voice that gave us just a thread of hope that someone is actually listening to those pesky citizens who may vote by the way.

After working many long hours on this fund, I've sadly concluded that as it stands today within Mason County LTAC dollars are not really public revenue. It's a mere formality that this revenue passes through the Mason County Treasurer's books. There are no criteria for what event receives grant funding. It's totally subjective and not just a little bit personal.

You and I do not have a voice today in how the lodging taxes are spent. But we will have a voice on election day. Enough said.