County & IDA Drop the Ball -
Again
IDA meeting cancelled last minute
- public not advised
Columbia County, FL (Posted Jan 05, 2011 07:10 am)
The County Home page yesterday afternoon
It would have been a simple matter
to notice the meeting
cancellation where people could have seen it.
The County Commission and the Industrial Development Authority, Columbia County's engines of economic development have been dropping the ball for years, missing and losing one business opportunity after the next.
This is the Google Calendar on the IDA web site
yesterday afternoon. It would have taken one minute to
change if someone at the IDA knew how.
As the technological world moved forward, both the County and the IDA have maintained inferior web presences.
Facilitated by the departing IDA's Gina Reynolds, the IDA took over a year to establish an overpriced and ineffectual web presence. The amateurs, who manage both the County and the IDA, couldn't coordinate to announce the cancellation of its own meeting this morning.
Unlike the Columbia County's Lake City, which is scrupulous in announcing both its meetings and cancellations with press releases, e mails and public notices, Columbia County's County Commission and upper management has for years shown a blatant disregard for the requirements of responsible and intelligent public notice.
A continuing disregard for the public and good business practices
With the elevation of Jack Berry protégé, Jody DuPree, to the chairmanship of the County Commission, the continuing disrespect and level of competence in Columbia County's management is apparently secure.
At the close of business yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, January 4th, the IDA meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning at 8:30 am was still listed as scheduled on the County web site.
The IDA web site was also still listing the meeting as
scheduled.
The IDA also dropped the ball
The IDA web site, which was the baby of the departing Assistant IDA Director, Gina Reynolds, and took over a year to get on to the web, had barely a mention of the cancelled meeting, if it could be found.
There was nothing on the IDA's home page, their Google Calendar was not changed and if one used the new Google Chrome browser there was no meeting cancellation notice at all.
.
.
Business as usual in Columbia County. A little consideration and good business practices would have only taken a minute.
It only took the Observer a minute to add the notice to
the County's home page.