Wissel obfuscates (“What’d he say?”)
Audio of BOCC Public Comments – January 24, ’23
The January 24, 2023, Board of County Commissioners meeting was pretty tame, procedural, and uneventful until Commission Chair Amy Mitchell asked for public comments. One person in Zoomland raised their hand, Robb Green, the President of the Platte Canyon Chamber of Commerce. If you’ve listened to the audio, you know what Mr. Green asked about: Where is all that money Wissel said he was going to find in the existing budget for Sheriff McGraw to upgrade his department as expressed via Amendment 1A, Public Safety 1% sales tax, which failed (mainly because of Wissel’s opposition) in the last election.
Wissel’s song and dance, demagoguery, and obfuscation were notable. He answered Green’s question by gaslighting the issue, saying, hell, McGraw has gotten more money in this year’s budget than in any of the last 40 years. Well, of course, that’s true because most likely every department in the county got a wee bit more funds than last year because, well, duh, that’s how budgets work from year to year. Rising prices, inflation, employee benefits, etc. have gone up. Sheriff McGraw explained he received an additional $200,000 as his department now covers code enforcement which is how the money is to be used. His department also got the same % bump that all other departments received. No additional monies to bring pay up to where it should be to attract more deputies. However, it is not what 1A was trying to cover. The county, alas, is still stuck with the same 9 AM to 9 PM. coverage. Scofflaws have taken note.
As Wissel was speaking I envisioned a marching band with flags, trumpets, trombones, flutes, drums, and a strutting drum major passing behind the long commissioners’ dais. I imagined his Constitution Conservative Patriot Corp (read South Park Outsiders and their fellow travelers) standing at attention and saluting the Whistler and praising God for the deliverance of Wissel to the Board of County Commissioners. Hallelujah! they cried.
Yeah, the lunacy continues. And, believe me, it’s going to get worse. (I hope you watched the movie clip as well as listened to the audio. A few smiles, some nodding of the head, “Yes, it’s so true!”, and some head shaking, “God help us!”)
