Jack Spence, a former employee for the commission, requested the following information be provided to him;
“1. A list of all individuals on the Mingo County payroll including all departments and the compensation being paid to them and identification of the cost they are being paid out of.
2. A list of all individuals being paid by the Mingo County Commission as ‘contract labor’, the amounts being paid to them and identification of the cost center they are being paid out of.
3. A list of all money spent on the racetrack project and the source of the funds being spent.
4. An itemization of the gas expenditures for all county employees (specifically naming the employee and the amount for each) from Jan. 1, 2007 to present who are authorized to charge gasoline to the county or has a credit card for gasoline paid by Mingo County.
5. An itemization of the expenditures for cell phones for all county employees from Jan. 1, 2007 to present specifically naming the employee and the amount for each.”
“The freedom of information request is a very good tool for all taxpayers to see how public funds are spent,” said Mingo County Commission Vice-president Greg “Hootie” Smith. “But, very often they are used and abused by politicians.”
Spence previously worked for the commission, specifically for 911 gathering addresses for the Dingess Water Project and confirming addresses for emergency services.
Lately he has run errands for Mingo County Sheriff Lonnie Hannah by serving summons and other legal documents. While some believe Spence must have been an employee of the sheriff’s department or a process server before he could serve papers for MCSD, an official from the Mingo County Circuit Clerk’s office states otherwise.
This official says anyone over the age of 18 and not related to the case in the summons, can serve the papers. They must also have proper knowledge of how to serve the papers.
“I just want taxpayers to know where their money is going,” Spence said.
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