Labor/Jobs

What do Scott County, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois have in common?
Not much except that a company from Chicago is about to get a $100,000+ contract paid for by Iowa taxpayer dollars.

For what, you ask?
An energy audit on the County's 8 Facilities; Including the brand new, state-of-the-art, Scott County Courthouse and Jail.

Why does a 2 year old multi million dollar facility need an energy audit?
I doubt it does. However, the county had secured some grant money (AKA: Iowa taxpayer dollars) and when they found out the audit was going to cost less than expected on the 2 buildings that were originally slated for they decided to spend the rest because they thought it was better to find a place to "spend, spend, spend" instead of patting themselves on the back for what could have been a $90,000 savings to the state.

This is called unchecked spending.
This is why I am running for office.

What does this have to do with Labor/Jobs in Scott County?
Couldn't a local business perform this energy audit so that Iowa tax dollars would go to Iowans (or even somewhere local on the QC Illinois side)? The County Board Chairwoman, Chris Gallin, did ask this question (which I commend). However, she was told by a staff member that no one in the area performed energy audits as a "primary function". I've talked to several local workers who say their company or union is more than capable of performing energy audits and doing just as well as any outfit from Chicago. Maybe the county didn't look hard enough or maybe they don't know much about the issue.

I know this is just one small example, but what do you think about this? Is a $100,000+ project not worth more diligence than this. What about spending the money on more buildings instead of taking the savings? Is grant money burning a hole in the county pocketbook? Is this how you manage your personal finances ("spend it if ya got it")? Finally, if an energy audit is needed on a 2 year old facility then the oversight of that building project was probably mismanaged in the first place.

-Jesse Anderson
for Scott County Supervisor 2 Nov 2010