Need your help and advice. I live in a corrupt town run like Chicago.
I live in a midsize town (38k citizens) outside a large metropolitan city in the South. During the past year, through various interactions with the city, staff and involved citizens, we have discovered what you call at best unethical behavior by the city council members and several staff members. This includes using city bond money designated for special land acquisitions used to buy city council members family’s land, political donor land or surrounding land (protection from development near their large estates), granting special government variances in return for low bid contract work, and more.
The local paper won't report on it because of ties to the city and the city is one of the largest advertisers. So I believe the best approach is to bring light to this via social media. But I need to do this in a way that protects my identity so I can still try and make change through my other citizen groups. There are a couple of council members that cold effectively end my job if they knew I was starting this effort. I have no social media presence. I need to get on FB, Twitter and Instagram. How can I do this without revealing my identity and get accounts that I can use to bring light to these issues and point out all of the BS that is going on? FB seems like the biggest challenge. I have tried a couple of times but my account gets suspended or deleted after a day or so. I am using a VPN as well.
Thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks everyone!
MAGA Trump 2020
send it to Veritas.
Too small for them at the moment.
Are there any local conservative talk radio hosts? You could see if they have any low key allies that can help. They may have a bigger media presence, plus a handy first amendment shield that would cause quite a bit of trouble to try to break.
I need to get more eyes on this before people will go out on a limb. These are some connected people who I am looking into.
Sent you DM
What about your state? Maybe you can make a whistleblower call to your state attorney general. As we all know now, you will remain completely anonomous.(Ask Shifty)
Tried but they only deal with state issues, not local city issues even in their jurisdiction/area.
Pede:
Don't do ANYTHING until you decide if reporting their actions to the IRS is warranted.
The IRS rewards whistleblowers (good whistleblowers) who report tax fraud that can be acted upon.
You can do this anonymously (the IRS will assign you a number so you can make a claim for the $, which is typically 10% of the under-reported tax payment).
With respect to your comments "special land acquistions" and "protection from development near their large estates" - this sounds like potential fraudulent conservation easement appraisals were submitted to the IRS.
The IRS is eagerly cracking down on these due to the substantial tax deductions. It is difficult for lay people (and most appraisers and lawyers) to understand the appraisals and many that have been accepted by the IRS in the past are now being investigated.
If public funding was used to pay for the appraisals, you, as a taxpayer, can request a copy. Whether or not you will be able to decyper it is another matter.
Most of the value associated with a conservation easement involves the extinguishment of development rights. If bond money was used to pay for these properties, that would likely elevate it if fraud can be proven.
The state should have an Attorney General. They are usually charged with investigating government wrong doing within their state, while at the same time representing the state in all legal matters. Sometimes one can call their office and get some advice as the "referral/report of potential problems" must come from a government employee, like your Senator. I had someone from our State Department report one issue I discovered, which ended with our AG issuing an "opinion" that solved the matter, at least in one county. On another issue I was referred to a local Attorney General in my county. Good luck, and stay safe!
You find out, let me know, and I'll tell the story of a Midwestern town of 3200 stuck with payng 100% of the power bill of the town's largest employer, doesn't matter a fart if you don't work there. Even worse, another company was trying to put a new factory in, but couldn't get a building permit because, I shit you not, the town's largest employer was afraid it may have to increase wages if another employer moved in.
Question any of it and prepair for life to get harder. Small Town shit can get pretty petty. Folks take your refusal to subsidize their jobs like a threat. Hey dummies, maybe if the other plant went in you'd get better jobs, and lower power bills.
These conversations need to happen, most of what really effects us is locally controlled.