This is part 2 of a previous post CLICKHERE in regards to a new incentive policy from the Guilford County Commissioners. Billy Yow is wanting to abstain from voting on this particular agenda item because of a CONFLICT OF INTEREST.Let's define what a conflict of interest is from dictionary.com ,
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
–noun
1.the circumstance of a public officeholder, business executive, or the like, whose personal interests might benefit from his or her official actions or influence: The senator placed his stocks in trust to avoid possible conflict of interest.
2.the circumstance of a person who finds that one of his or her activities, interests, etc., can be advanced only at the expense of another of them.
In the video embedded above let's start out and give Commissioner Yow a little help on when he needs to abstain because it takes you close to five minutes into the discussion for you to ask the chairman that you need to abstain. In the future it would be wise even before they talk about this item or any item you abstain from that you need to do it before it comes in front of council not five minutes into the discussion.NOTE(above video was cut down to when Commissioner Yow started to speak, Commissioner Gibson spoke before to make it be close to 5 minutes before Commissioner Yow spoke to abstain)
Commissioner Yow was trying to do the ethical thing on this incentive policy to give money to this granite church development property off of church street and N.C. 150 and abstain but Commissioner Perkins starting at the 1 minute time period wanted Commissioner Yow to state his conflict of interest and if it really is a conflict of interest.This embedded video is a must to see Commissioner Perkins look silly trying to question Commissioner Yow on his conflict of interest.
Commissioner Yow has and might in the future because of his day job which is well drilling and water pump testing have business with granite church development. Who is to know if this incentive money that just got approved was the money to pay back Commissioner Yow on this development project. He needed to abstain from this vote for plenty of reasons. As you can see in the video Commissioner Perkins doesn't think that there is a conflict of interest and wanted to get a little clarification from the county attorney Mark Payne who stated that this was not his call but the commissioners call. The county attorney should have seen from the facts that this was a conflict and stated to Commissioner Perkins that it was.
Commissioner Perkins let's explain to you what a conflict of interest is on this issue. Commissioner Billy Yow is the well driller for this project which means he got money from granite church development. Then we see that this company comes in front of your board the Guilford County Commissioners to ask for this GUILFORD COUNTY COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT POLICY taxpayer handout. Then the Commissioner Yow wants to abstain from the vote because he has done work for this company and they might expand in future and do more work for them and it might be that the GUILFORD COUNTY COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT POLICY might be the money that pays Commissioner Yow in future , who knows.
To see a sitting Guilford County Commissioner want to question this conflict of interest is amazing to see and the embedded video will give you a better look at what happened. Hope this was a good explanation and if confused watch the embedded video.
3 comments:
After watching this video I kept thinking about Skip Alston leaving the area when the vote was taken on the Stimulus Money for the hotel. Was a similar discussion held in regard to Skip and his decision to walk out of the room before the vote? Just wondering.
Betty Almond
Great job. I have submitted FOIA requests to the city and county for all correspondence between the commissioners and Robbie Perkins on the matter. The requests are available at my place.
thanks fec will check it out . I hope we can do more foi request on all of our municipalities and might just do that to see how much money the law firm nexsen pruett made off of policy.
Betty , at least Skip Alston actually recused himself before the agenda item came up instead of what Billy Yow did 5 minutes into agenda item finally speaking up.
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