Matt Coker: Shouldn't rely on bake sales to fund critical county functions

To The Daily Sun,

A fundraiser is being held for the Belknap County Sheriff’s Department. Organizers are trying to raise $3,000 for the body wire equipment required to keep the drug task force operating safely by raffling handbags sold by Rep. Johnson. Fundraising for the sheriff seems to be a noble cause, however, it brings up some troubling issues.

Some who are fundraising – most notably Rep. Gregg Hough, Rep. Richard Littlefield and Rep. Dawn Johnson, all of Laconia – voted to adopt the Executive Committee’s budget which underfunded the Sheriff’s Department by at least $48,000. Then, during a motion to separate line items so they could vote individually on items (including the body wire) all three voted no. When I asked Rep. Hough why he would vote not to separate these items, he said he “didn’t want to pick favorites” and he has “to wear different hats as a politician.”

That's fair, but my thought is by picking what to fund-raise for and what not to fund-raise for seems to be picking favorites. The other question that comes to mind is that these representatives who voted down the funding are now looking like they may benefit from their votes to underfund the Sheriff’s Department. Rep. Hough made a video where he pulled items out of one of the bags they are raffling, all items coming out of the bag have his campaign sticker on them. It was hilarious and I thought it was great marketing, but benefiting from marketing of something you refused to fund in the first place would leave me with an uneasy feeling. In the video he noted if you donate to this raffle it will benefit the safety of the county, which seems like something he should have voted for in the first place. Rep. Johnson's company’s info is on the raffle tickets and she is providing the bags for the raffle. Is Rep. Johnson profiting from this? At a minimum she’s gaining marketing exposure. Lastly, when I’ve questioned Rep. Littlefield about his decision to vote against funding the $48,000 the commissioners recommended to fund the sheriff, he fired back saying he’s trying to raise $3,000 for the body wire. Well that’s great and all, but that still leaves the sheriff about $45,000 short which equates to two less part-time deputies.

I truly hope they raise the funds, (I truly wish they would have appropriated the $48,000 in the first place, at the very least the $3,000 for the body wire if they support that specific item so strongly) it is crucial for the drug task force and we all know this community needs all the help it can get with its substance issues. However, as members of this community we need to question whether or not we want to rely on bake sales for critical county functions. The question also should be asked – is it wise for organizers to allow politicians to be an active part of fundraising for a budget crisis they created. It seems ethically troublesome at best.

Matt Coker

Meredith