help stop the embezzlement of town money
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD AT TOWN MEETINGS!!!
Town money is being paid to aid criminal, fraudulent transactions
Southern Shores FRAUD & incompetence
TOWN MONEY IS BEING SPENT TO HIDE WES HASKETT'S $75,000 MISCONDUCT
Wes Haskett filed a zoning amendment application on March 31, 2023 but never posted notice at property he claims was effected as Town Code 36-414(b) requires when rezoning subdividable property to unsubdividable. During the time Wes Haskett was supposed to have posted notice he was also asked 4 times about subdividing the 75 E Dogwood Trail lot in May 2023 and did not mention the proposed amendment to the person buying 75 E Dogwood Trail. Public records indicate Wes Haskett communicated with the realtor and old property owner about the 75 E Dogwood Trail lot subdivision and Wes Haskett's withholding of the proposed amendment allowed the old owner to negotiate an additional $75,000 from the new property owner that they would not have received if there was posted notice at the effected property. After Wes Haskett had his zoning amendment approved by Town Council he refused to answer a question about how the property owners were notified and hired the Town's attorney, Philip Hornthal. Well, thousands and thousands of dollars have been paid to Philip Hornthal from Town money as a result of the misconduct but the only thing Southern Shores property owners have gotten for their money is paid attorneys violating rules and laws prohibiting "Aiding Fraudulent Transactions". Southern Shores Town Code of Ethics only permits Town Money to be spent in the interest of all the property owners, but for some reason Wes Haskett is spending town money on attorneys misrepresenting Town Codes to deceive the public.
CLIFF OGBURN IS HIDING ILLEGALLY OVER TAXED PROPERTIES
Wes Haskett filed a lot width amendment on March 31, 2023 to prevent lot subdivisions. Wes Haskett then did not properly notify property owners Haskett claims to have taken their right to subdivide from with posted notice. Town Code 36-414(b) required property owners to be notified of subdividable property being rezoned as unsubdividable with posted notice. Now that Southern Shores claims to have taken the right to subdivide property without an eminent domain transaction (where the government pays the property owner for taking a right to the property), Southern Shores is now refusing to order Dare County to reduce taxes on all the properties they have reduced the value of by taking the right to subdivide. Intentionally overtaxing property violates law and Cliff Ogburn is currently refusing to use the Southern Shores town newsletter email list to inform property owners that they have had the value of their property reduced without a tax reduction. With Southern Shores beaches disappearing faster than beach replenishment programs, can Southern Shores even afford to legally reduce taxable property value?
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GROSSLY NEGLIGENT SNOW REMOVAL
The snow fall on January 21, 2025 proved how incompetent the town manager Cliff Ogburn and deputy town manager Wes Haskett really are. As other towns have ordinances requiring property owners to shovel their sidewalks and insurance companies often consider uncleared snow a liability/potential negligence, Southern Shores roads were a hazardous mess for days. Days after the snow fell the intersections leading onto Duck Road where still slippery enough for vehicles to slide into Duck Road traffic when trying to stop. When snowplows cost about $5000 each for trucks similar to what the town owns, what could be more important to the town than keeping pedestrians and property owners safe from vehicles sliding out of control off the road?
Why Was Money Spent In The Cemetery?
There is no doubt that the stone driveway at the Southern Shores Cemetery was replaced with an absolutely beautiful concrete driveway that is even more beautiful than your typical concrete driveway due to the acid washed finish showing the aggregate. The question is who spends money in a beach front town to replace an easily walkable/drivable stone driveway in a cemetery that has yet to make most beaches handicap assessable and has not installed beach bathrooms that are not construction zone style porter potties. Save Southern Shores has a theory that the person is discretely using the term "acid wash" to communicate something not permitted, like making a jackass out of someone with evidence of Southern Shores corruption to try and "wash" the evidence. With $1,000,000 plus ocean front homes lining the beach and vacation rentals a major source of the local economy's income isn't it time to spend more money on the town's biggest asset, the beach?
WES HASKETT IS IN CONTEMPT OF THE DARE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT'S DECEMBER 18, 2024 ORDER TO PROVIDE THE COURT THE RECORDS FROM THE OCTOBER 21, 2024 VARIANCE HEARING
All of the problems referenced on the Save Southern Shores website stem from the misconduct of Wes Haskett. Wes Haskett withheld a proposed lot width amendment that he claims prevents lot subdivisions 4 times in May of 2023 as the previous owner of 75 E Dogwood Trail negotiated an additional $75,000 for a lot that was subdividable. Wes Haskett instructed the new owner of 75 E Dogwood Trail to apply for a Variance to obtain an exception to the lot width amendment. The Variance application was denied after Wes Haskett provided false statements. Now the Superior Court of Dare County has ordered Wes Haskett to provide a complete record of the Variance hearing within 30 days of December 18, 2024. Wes Haskett has refused to comply with the Dare County Superior Court.
TOWN ATTORNEY PHILIP HORNTHAL IS WITNESS/VICTIM TAMPERING
Another reason Wes Haskett might be in contempt of the Superior Court's Order to provide a complete copy of Variance No. VA-24-01 may be because Town Attorney Philip Hornthal required the applicant to email all documents to him to provide to Southern Shores for filing. Philip Hornthal claimed to forward (3) emails with filings for the Southern Shores Planning Board/Board of Adjustments but a public records response dated November 25, 2024 proves the filings were not provided.