MLIRD

Reader dislikes meeting disruptions

Watching Ron Covey continually disrupt the MLIRD meetings with complaints of meeting procedures accompanied with his childish eye-rolling and three different kinds of head shaking, is like watching a disgruntled past president of a first grade elementary class interrupting the "Mother May I" game because if he can't run it, nobody gets to. He repeatedly accuses the new president of micro managing an office and crew that doesn't need it. If they previously had been managed at all, they wouldn't now be refunding close to a half million dollars of tax assessments that were wrongfully obtained by charging citizens not even in the district. When district boundary lines are kept on an Etch-a-Sketch game in order to control board members' eligibility, it is hard to keep track of who to charge. Of course, that regime wouldn't have refunded a nickel of it anyway.

Covey adamantly opposes the new procedure of having two board members sign all checks even though it is common and expected in public entities. During this process, it was discovered he was receving $140 a month, 155 percent of his monthly meeting stipend, to pay his personal cell phone bill. Covey was the only board member receiving this.

If MLIRD had been properly managed, their costs for a manager wouldn't be as close as it is to the Moses Lake City Manager's costs. MLIRD's employment and budget is miniscule in comparison. With prudent managing by past board members, the district wouldn't have paid a Spokane pollster $100,000 to see what improvements were preferred at Connelly Park without having a dime in the budget for any of them.

To me, it looks like Covey and past board members were so good at not micro managing and wasting money, they would fit right in at the federal government.

Richard Hansen

Moses Lake