OUR VIEW: Hatchett should be confirmed to lead KACo

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December 26, 2009

Staff report The Glasgow Daily Times Sat Dec 26, 2009, 01:28 PM CST

GLASGOW — We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.

— Plato

Ed Hatchett is not a man afraid of the light. His body of public and private work is a testament to always doing the right things in the right way. The Kentucky Association of Counties executive search committee has made an outstanding recommendation to the KACo board of directors to make this Barren Countian its next executive director.

Much is wrong at KACo. The disgraced organization, along with the Kentucky League of Cities and others, was laid bare by the excellent reporting of the Lexington Herald-Leader in story after story of shocking mismanagement, largess, of lack of oversight and control — all funded through public dollars. Kentucky State Auditor Crit Lewellan’s scathing report takes KACo staff and board members to task for putting this organization in the ditch.

Hatchett is uniquely qualified to bring not just instant credibility to this beleaguered organization but also the experience and wisdom to change the culture and change behavior.

If only there were two of him that the League of Cities could be as well led.

Mike Foster, KACo’s immediate past president and chair of the search committee, called Hatchett the right person for KACo’s future.

We agree.

And if KACo is to live up to its role in helping provide for better county government throughout the commonwealth there is much work to be done.

The debacles of KACo and the League of Cities underscore the vital role of oversight in not just government bodies but of quasi-governmental associations and organizations as well. Board members spending public dollars have irrefutable obligations to be zealous stewards of public monies; county and city leaders need to be asking tough questions of the board members representing them and taxpayers need to be paying attention as well.

The state’s newspapers need to continue their vigilance in the form of ongoing crusades for open records, open meetings, legal notices and all manner of tools that provide for more openness —more light to make these cozy arrangements we’ve seen at KACo and KLC difficult to carry on.

The culture of sleazy entitlement is among our worst natures in Kentucky and we expect more of our elected officials and those in whom our elected officials place their trust and our money. Ed Hatchett is one of the good guys that helps restore our faith in efforts to have trust in where, how and why public and quasi-public dollars are being spent.

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