Column for July 29, 2010

Last week’s copy of The Selma News arrived just moments before the family and I left for a vacation to New England. I took one glance at the front page and saw the very thing I figured would happen. Selma has extended its tentacles of power two miles outside the town’s corporate limits via an extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). I did not bother going to the town council meeting/public hearing for two reasons. First, I already knew the outcome beforehand. Second, it was the same night as we had scheduled my baby’s first birthday party. I was not going to miss my baby boy’s birthday for anything. I stashed the newspaper in my luggage to carry with me on the trip.

I have written several times about the evils of having an ETJ and the injustice that will be perpetrated upon those within an ETJ expansion. My position has not changed on that. The extending of the Selma ETJ two miles into the unincorporated areas of Johnston County is just plain unethical. Just because the town is empowered to do so by the state legislature does not mean that they should do so. There are many freedoms and abilities that I have in life, but just because they exist does not mean that I should exercise those abilities and freedoms.

Upon reading the article, there are a few things that jump out at me. First is that though I work with technology and am fully in support of the employment of technology, I do not always support its use when it comes to representative government. What I mean is that this business of phoning in to a town council meeting, as done by Mr. Eric Sellers for this past meeting, should never be allowed. I understand that people have their own lives, schedules, and obligations in life. If you knew my schedule and how I have to use technology instead of being physically on site, you would know that I am not opposed to conference calls, web meetings, and the like. However, when a member of a legislative body is casting a vote, the onus should be upon the representative to be physically present. When I cast a ballot, I have to be at the polling place, I can not just phone in my vote. When a Congressman is not going to be able to be in Washington, D.C., he can not just telephone his vote into Congress. A Town Councilman should be required to be present in order to participate in an open, public meeting.

The next thing that jumps out at me is that the town really needs to examine whether or not this vote is legally binding. The Town of Selma has not historically done well in compliance with a state law that requires a 60% affirmative vote in order to enact an ordinance when it is introduced for the first time. Since there have been changes since the last time the town tried to snooker the public with an ETJ expansion, I don’t know whether or not they have met this requirement. If not, they need to take another vote at another council meeting.

The last thing that jumps out at me is the “Big Brother” mentality. The Orwellian thought that was expressed by Councilwoman Cheryl Oliver that the town needs to ensure that ETJ residents are “good neighbors” to Selma residents is just plain specious and nothing short of a soft tyranny. There is absolutely no reason why a town that is less than two miles across in its corporate limits should be able to extend its tentacles of power further than its breadth into the outlaying areas. That is not only unethical, it is as I have deemed it, regulation without representation. That is contrary to the very concepts of the founding of this nation. The excuse that we have to make sure that those outside the town are good neighbors to those within is merely a lame justification for an unjust act. Governmental oppression often comes under the guise of good intentions or flowery sounding excuses.

I have heard many people exclaim how much they detest the direction of our town in these sorts of affairs. Instead of attracting people into Selma, the town may very well be driving people out. I have heard from people who worked to get some of the people in office who voted for the expansion exclaim their displeasure with this ETJ expansion vote and paradigm of control.

Though I have appreciated the candor and responsiveness of both Council Members Sellers and Oliver and like them personally, I am very disappointed in their support of bigger government and unjust exertion of local government control. Thank you Jackie Lacy and Debbie Johnson for your votes for governmental sanity. I never before thought I would ever type that last sentence.