Supervisor John Roark told a Facebook Live audience last week that he still hasn’t opened his County tax bills because, “I had a stroke back in February, and I don’t want to have another.”
Roark went ‘live’ last Tuesday, Sept. 30th, for the third time in as many weeks. He covered a wide variety of topics and urged residents who are upset about County tax increases to address the Board at its Oct. 16th meeting. “Be passionate but respectful and kind…I’ve not always been kind. Who am I to tell you about civility and decorum?… All of you have the right to want to get the pitch forks and have a tea party, but what would that fix?”
Roark joked that he has been able to track down “Patient Zero” with an illness he publicly ‘diagnosed’ several weeks ago — RDS or Roark Derangement Syndrome. He said it’s a woman whose first name begins with the letter ‘J’ — “June or Judy or something like that.”
Roark also said there’s a ‘safe and effective’ vaccine for RDS. “All you’ve gotta do is just be kind and use common sense.”
Roark’s addresss began with him revealing that he fell moments before the Go Live. “My wife walked by, and I fell in love again. So I had to pick myself up.”
Roark made reference to his previous announcement three weeks ago that he will soon be stepping down. But he again stopped short of announcing a resignation date. “My time’s limited. I’m trying to do what I can while I can, but you have got to speak up and vote, and you’ve got to find somebody who’s not scared to have tar and feathers thrown on them…RDS is real. I could have the cure for cancer and someone would say, ‘Why didn’t he do it sooner?’…Somebody else has got to step in here soon.”
In order for Roark to leave, “The citizens of Nottoway County have got to be taken care of, that’s all it takes to shut me up.”
Roark said that because Americans today are allowed to “identify” as they wish, he was identifying as “Correct.” Roark said he predicted, sadly, that volunteers were going to be unfairly blamed for the County’s tax increases.
Roark urged citizens to direct blame at the Board. Roark said he includes himself because he’s a member, though he did cast the lone dissenting vote in May against the budget. Roark again said the tax increases are “just too much.”
Roark recalled that he tried to gradually implement an EMS tax in 2020 but met Board resistance. He said the issue was first discussed as far back as 1998 but previous Boards failed to address what has now become an EMS volunteer crisis.
Roark called for Nottoway County to fully takeover Nottoway Emergency Squad within 18 months. He said the tax burden now will only get heavier but that residents need to have peace of mind that when they dial 911, ambulances will arrive soon. Running the Squad would cost the County an esimated $2.25 million annually in payroll to have an ALS (Advanced Life Support) unit staffed 24/7 in each of the three towns.
Roark also said the school division is hinting at the need for more funds to boost teacher pay and to also tackle several capital improvements. “It’s going to get ugly and expensive.”
Nottoway County’s landfill either needs to be expanded and privatized, he said, or closed. Either way, he said, the County will achieve significant savings. Roark revealed that twice in recent years, the County took $1 million from reserves and floated it to the landfill to cover operating losses.
Nottoway’s volatile political climate, warned Roark, is going to reduce the number of residents interested and willing to run for public office. “It starts shrinking your pool of people.”
Roark told residents who are upset that they “can’t be mad for just two weeks a year. You’ve got to rise up 100% of the time.”
During his 69-minute address, Roark’s phone rang. He said it was a call from County Administrator Steve Bowen. “Sorry, Steve…he’s probably calling tell me to get the hell off of Facebook Live.”
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