Sauer Grapes

Sauer Grapes

By Commissioner Gary A. House

When the Harnett County Board of Commissioners hired Scott Sauer as county manager some five years ago, I would have preferred to have had Tony Wilder in that position; however, I was happy with the hire of Sauer.  He interviewed very well and knew how to answer all the questions without hesitation.  He even knew how to initiate conversation with me.  In hindsight, in my opinion, he may have been prepped beforehand by someone who wanted him in that position.   He even got  a good recommendation from our human resources department.

Not long after the announcement of his hiring, a few friends from Sampson County thanked me profusely for taking him from them.  That seemed odd to me but I was happy with the hire.  I have said many times that I learned more about Harnett County in six months under Sauer than I had learned in the previous two years.  He gave us loads of information and gave the appearance of treating all commissioners equally as he had promised in his interview.

Randy Rogers came to see me the first time in August after Sauer was hired in January  He came to me with information obtained from the Harnett County School Board via a public records request from the Daily Record about the construction of the replacement of Boone Trail Elementary School.  I listened intently.

In our many discussions on this subject, he began telling me things that were happening in public utilities.  In the beginning, it was difficult to believe some of the things he was sharing with me.  Some of those allegedly  involved, I considered friends.  It took quite a bit of time for it to sink in that truth came from Rogers lips.  Much of the information he shared with me was and has been corroborated by other employees and former employees.

One thing I do remember Rogers sharing with me early on was that then Public Works Director Rodney Tart was driving a Mercedes that Engineer Hiram Marziano used to own.  I took that with a grain of salt because I knew all county employees know to keep arms length transactions with county vendors.  I happened to mention the Mercedes to Sauer one day.  He became very interested in this issue.  He asked me if there was any proof that I could bring him.  Yes, Sauer asked for the information to be brought to him.

I contacted Rogers and he produced a picture of the vehicle license plate.  A few days later, Sauer informed me that the vehicle was registered in Tart's name.  He called Tart into his office and inquired about it.  According to Sauer, Tart said the vehicle came from a used car dealership in Greensboro.  Peaking Sauer's interest, he decided to investigate further.

He sent Staff Attorneys Slusser and O'Leary to Asheboro to interview Marziano about the vehicle.  For some unknown reason, Tart weaseled his way into the car.  According to Sauer, Marziano claimed that he had sold the car to Tart.  He even pulled out an amortization schedule showing the monthly payments.  Amortization schedules can be produced on the internet in a matter of minutes.  Nevertheless, Marziano confirmed that the vehicle was purchased from him while Tart claimed it was purchased from a Greensboro dealership.

Sauer appeared very upset that Tart and Marziano told different stories.  Sauer never told me whether he thought the vehicle was sold at fair market value or less.

On the way back to Harnett County from Marziano's office, Tart allegedly began making inappropriate comments to O'Leary.  She filed a complaint with the County.

Sauer became very upset about that he thought Tart had lied to him and about the comments made to O'Leary.  He brought the information to the Board of Commissioners.  Sauer recommended termination of Tart.  I do not recall if a formal vote was taken by the Board on termination since Sauer had full authority to do it on his own because Tart's position was not an appointed position.  I do remember it being a consensus among all Board members to support Sauer's decision.

Later Sauer came back and informed the Board that he had terminated Tart.  One Board member appeared to reverse his position and said he only thought Tart would be suspended temporarily.

As I recall, Tart was given the opportunity to retire in order to avoid termination.

The Board instructed Sauer to go to public utilities, make inquiries, and report back to the Board with anything he found wrong.  To my knowledge, Sauer never made the inquiries among employees that I remember him being instructed to do.

I think Sauer stepped on some pretty big toes with the way he handled the Tart situation.  After that event, in my opinion, Sauer's performance dropped off dramatically.  It appeared that someone may have instructed him not to mess with the Good Ol' Boy System in Harnett County.

Over the next couple of years, in my eyes, Sauer's performance, in my opinion,  became so lacking that I had to support Commissioner Jim Burgin's motion to terminate him.

Sauer admitted to the new Board that it was he who instructed David Senter to add me to the suit against Rogers.  The Board never voted to add me to the suit as attested to by Burgin and Wilder.

Some time between Tart's retirement and Sauer's termination, a faceless, cowardly cyber(s) stalker appeared.  I blocked myself from reading the garbage a couple of years ago.  I am certain I know who is involved in this continuous harassment.  I always thought Sauer was above it because he had a lot to lose even though others were telling me otherwise.

A few months ago, I got a few friend requests on FaceBook from a lady that I did not know.  Her name was Tuesday Price.  I had heard the day before that Sauer had a girlfriend named Tuesday.  Just to be sure, I declined her as a friend.  Then all of a sudden, according to my sources, Ms. Price starting posting along with the faceless, cowardly cyber stalker.  Then, I heard Sauer and Price married which is verified on Price's FaceBook page.

Since the marriage, Price's postings have apparently escalated.  Price may be posting on her own but I have a hard time believing that since she came from a different county and I do not know her.

Somehow I doubt this lady is making these atrocious FaceBook postings.  I am not even sure she knows about them...

In my opinion, this just may be a case of Sauer Grapes...

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