The Gadfly is a series of letters offering commentary on local issues and published in the Warrensburg Gazette.

Our city and county have a lot of boards and committees. Many of these, unfortunately, have gained attention because the members haven’t provided leadership or watched what the paid staff was doing with public or donated funds. Board members who effectively do their jobs on behalf of the taxpayers are often not recognized; indeed, they are sometimes reviled by those who want to avoid being held accountable for misuse of public money. When their terms expire, they disappear virtually unnoticed.

Over the past couple of years I have had opportunity to follow the trek of the Johnson County Board of Services from a virtual rubber-stamp to an effective board doing its best to meet its statutory obligations at the lowest cost to the taxpayer. It has progressed from sneering at the Sunshine Law to rigorously following it; it has instituted the financial controls that were previously lacking and it avoided an unneeded costly expansion.

Linda Eaton, who contributed greatly to this board’s recent achievements, has recently left the JCBS. I have observed numerous meetings where her knowledge and ability to delve into financial data helped make clear that fiscal controls were needed. She was a major contributor to the changes which occurred, changes which benefited both the taxpayer and the developmentally disabled employees.

Linda’s service to the people of Johnson County is exemplary; I wish the members of all boards would follow her example.