I didn't say, "Burgess" I said, "HUBRIS"
Or, maybe I did say, "Burgess," the two words seem interchangeable.
Burgess is the picture of hubris, which, according to www.dictionary.com, means: excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.
In an article from the DNJ on March 8, Burgess brags about a new 1900-home subdivision. Because he's so well-cared for by recently resigned County Attorney Josh McCreary and his firm, I'm sure he didn't have to jump through any hoops with planning.
Who knows who paid for the legal and planning fees, when you consider this project didn't happen in the past 24 hours or 24 months. It started while he was County Mayor.
He admitted to Sam Stockard of the Murfreesboro Post, Aug. 1, 2017, that he used the County Attorneys for his own personal use. This is a direct violation of the County Code of Ethics section 4, "thou shalt not accept directly, or indirectly any gift, money, gratuity or other consideration or favor of any kind from anyone other than the County."
Crickets from the Commission.
I'd like to see exactly how much the attorney's fees were, who paid them and when. From what I've seen in the firm's billing, it looks like taxpayers may have paid some of these fees.
Let's not forget Sections 2&3: Disclosure of Voting and Non-Voting Matters. Shall I go on?
Burgess' behavior was even documented in the public records, when he used the County Attorneys to help him get roads built in another subdivision, Rockvale Meadows.
The developer, Mr. Vanderschaaf, defaulted on a construction bond to build the roads, and instead of then County Attorney James Cope immediately notifying the Commission so that Pinnacle could pay the claim, they and Burgess used the taxpayers' money to pay for the roads using the Commission to pass the bill. Once roads were put in, Burgess was assured he would be able to sell his houses, somewhere around 20 of them.
The County Attorney, at the time, was convicted felon James Cope. The insider-trading-convict used his position on the board of Pinnacle Bank and insider knowledge of this bond default not only to protect Pinnacle from having to pay it off, but also to help his son, Evan Cope, buy Vanderschaaf's private home. Vanderschaaf's notice of bankruptcy was on a Friday and the next Monday, Evan Cope bought his private residence. Guess who financed it?
You may be thinking, well, Cope is gone, Burgess is gone and so is McCreary, so what's the beef?
Well, my friends, Burgess is still alive and breathing free air, so is Cope. The kitchen was getting too hot for McCreary, so he ran cryin' like a baby to Burgess. Evidently, he was the only one who would hire him and got him a job with NHC. I feel sorry for NHC.
Their legacy lives on!
Shouldn't the taxpayers be getting dividends from their investment in Rockvale Meadows?
The contract that James Cope authored, with all kinds of self-dealing therein, lives on in our County Courthouse and any attorney from the firm is deemed to have knowledge of all the potential crimes committed by all attorneys from that firm. What do we hear from the Commission? Crickets?
Back to Burgess. People complained that he ruled by intimidation and threats.
That's what possessed the Commission while he was there. Well, they don't have that excuse anymore, but the shenanigans continue with Craig Harris pinching funds from the Employee Benefits Trust. While the Commissioners bob their heads and McCreary gives them the OK, they cannot blame him for their lack of ethics.
The Commission is so sanctimonious that they open meetings with a prayer and a Bible asking God and Jesus Christ to bless their professional abuse.
This has got to stop.
Sit up, pay attention, use the brains God gave you and get these people out of our Courthouse or demand they do their jobs and protect the taxpayers' money.
Anyway, that's just my opinion and that's what I intend to do.
