By Linda Dean Cooper

As the BoCC workshop was winding down this afternoon Chair Desiree Mills asked the board about adding an assistant coordinator to next year’s budget.  She barely got the words out of her mouth when Coordinator Wilbur Dean jumped from his seat to say there was no need for an assistant, he was planning on leaving at the end of February.

Most in the room were surprised but I was not.  I believe this is a desperate, last-ditch effort by Dean and Commissioner John Meeks to sway the election to keep Meeks in for another four years.  Anyone who knows the politics in Levy knows Dean does Meeks’ bidding.

Dean was an assistant coordinator before he was appointed to replace Freddy Moody when Moody retired. Why do Dean and Meeks not want an assistant?  There can be only one puppet and one puppet master. 

Tax and Spend John $116 Landfill Assessment

John Meeks’ legacy will be Tax and Spend John.  Dean follows Meeks every directive and they have all been failures. The $116 landfill assessment allows people from out of county to dump their garbage free because there is no policy in place to verify if a Levy County resident. Levy is still losing money because outsiders are taking advantage.  If you live in a municipality, you pay double, your mandatory city garbage pickup and the $116 assessment. Dean and Meeks could not implement a simple policy to check driver’s licenses to know if people dumping their garbage were Levy County residents.  

Charlie Kennedy is challenging John Meeks for the District 1 seat.  Election is Aug 20, 2024.  

Dean Lied About Local Veterinarians Not Supporting a County Vet

Levy has been without a full-time veterinarian since July 2023. The last full-time vet resigned because of Dean and Meeks’ favoritism policy to protect an incompetent animal control director who should have been fired years ago.   We need the return of the low-cost spay and neuter and TNR programs to help stop the overpopulation of dogs and cats.  Dean recently said local veterinarians told him they do not support a full-time county veterinarian because it would cut into their livelihood, another lie. 

Select employees are rewarded with out-of-town trips to conventions like New Orleans and given raises with no justifications in the paperwork.  Other hard-working county employees keep their heads down and hope for the best.  There is no accountability for anything since the Dean and Meeks regime.

Don’t Fall for Dean’s Fake Resignation

Don’t fall for the fake resignation by Dean.  If you get a phone call saying Meeks and Dean have heard the people and Dean is resigning don’t believe it.  It is an election strategy to give Tax and Spend John another four years as well as Dean to continue to destroy this county with his 1950s mentality and feeding at the government trough.  Don’t forget we voted Dean out when he ran for county commissioner and we don’t want him as a coordinator. Charlie Kennedy is challenging John Meeks for the District 1 seat. Election is August 20, 2024

I have requested a copy of Dean’s resignation letter.  I can’t wait to see it if there is one!  Stay tuned.

Update on Coordinator Wilbur Dean’s Resignation Letter

June 19, 2024, 7:42 AM

This just in from the county HR department for the response to my records request submitted after the budget meeting Tuesday for a copy of Wilbur Dean’s resignation letter per Human Resource Dept.: A resignation letter has not been received.

It appears that those who witnessed this “sudden” resignation knew it wasn’t sudden but a planned strategy by Commissioner John Meeks and Coordinator Wilbur Dean to get Meeks reelected and Dean to keep his job.

The real take away here is that Meeks and Dean are aware that the taxpayers have had enough of their disastrous teamwork that has taken Levy backward or they would not have staged this fake “leaving” as Dean called it.

It’s time for restructuring, to hire a qualified, experienced county manager, not a coordinator, and hire an assistant manager.

There will be more on the budget meeting in the next few days. That meeting was a really enlightening experience of how bad things have gotten in our local government.

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Posted June 18, 2024