Coleman Gives Some More of Your Money Away | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post appears courtesy of the Beaufort Observer.

    On July 26, 2018 a gospel singing group Called Big Daddy Weave came to town. They performed at Washington High School from 7:00 until 10:00 PM.

    The Sheriff, Ernie Coleman, provides private security. The rate is $25 per hour. The users pay deputies directly. The Sheriff decided he would provide security free of charge. This was for a private for profit event that Big Daddy Weave or the local promoter was supposed to pay for. There is no requirement that we know of that requires security at these private events.

    Big Daddy Weave paid the school system $945.00 for the use of the Washington High School auditorium.

    Sheriff Ernie Coleman provided security free of charge. Overtime call out sheets show that a total 15 man hours of over time was paid to four deputies to cover the event. We estimate the cost to the taxpayer to be about $500. We used the payroll rate of $32,000 per year which comes to and overtime rate ot $24.00 per hour. For 15 hours this is $360. Payroll overhead is about 30 percent, so we are at almost $500 for the night.

    For many years, I have watched sheriffs use public money to enrich their friends and to hand out political favors. I wonder who the FOE (Friend Of Ernie) is whose vote Coleman was buying with your money. A lot of this goes on in Coleman's department This is why he becomes so defensive and irrational when asked to produce information. Only by not giving out public information can Coleman hide his corrupt behavior. Secrets, Secrets, Secrets. Another excuse is "On going investigations".

    The Beaufort Observer's experience during the four years Ernie Coleman has been Sheriff is that it is virtually impossible to get information the public is entitled to simply by asking. It is so bad, we stopped asking.

    The public should question how much of this had been done over the past four years and how much did the tax payers pay. Coleman spends a lot of time telling you how much he is saving but he never tells you how much he is giving away. Let's see: personal use of County property, abusive overtime, very poor management of over time, a $100,000 drug buy fund that has never been accounted for.

    Coleman rewards his campaign staff and pays off supporters with your money.

    Coleman will continue to get away with this as long as Fake Frankie Waters (also known as King Frankie and Zip Code Waters) continues to back Coleman. Fake Frankie has cost us millions and at least 50 high paying jobs in Belhaven when he did all he could to close the Belhaven hospital.

    It is time to drain the Beaufort County Swamp

    Can we afford the team of Fake Frankie Waters and Ernie Coleman.