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3 <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners desire, on behalf of County officials <br />and employees, and the residents of Orange County, to express their deep appreciation and <br />gratitude for the services rendered by Commissioner Jacobs to the County over the past 20 <br />years. <br /> <br />NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Orange County Board of Commissioners offers <br />Barry our very best wishes for success, happiness, prosperity and good health in his future <br />endeavors. <br /> <br />This, the third day of December 2018. <br /> <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Rich, seconded by to approve Resolution of <br />Commendation for Commissioner Barry Jacobs. <br /> <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> <br />Commissioner Jacobs read the following comments: <br /> <br />NINE IMPERATIVES I TRIED TO FOLLOW FROM THERE TO HERE <br /> <br />Hold the door open. <br />Be a conduit for the aggrieved. Listening costs little beyond time, but may matter a great <br />deal. If you don’t listen it’s difficult to empathize or have genuine compassion. If you don’t act <br />with compassion or empathy you become that bureaucrat we all love to hate. <br /> <br />No future. <br />Don’t lose touch with Orange County values, and don’t let anyone convince you there’s <br />no such thing. All 15 commissioners with whom I’ve served, and many before us, maintained an <br />unflagging commitment to support quality public education, to remain frugal but generous, and <br />to help those least able to help themselves. We also didn’t forget that, while some say children <br />are our future, there is no future without a healthy environment. <br /> <br />Words matter. <br />Those in attendance tonight or watching at home or on-line are NOT the audience. <br />They’re the public. This is not a performance and we’re not here to entertain, although a good <br />laugh now and then is welcome. Speaking of word choice, land that is undeveloped is not <br />vacant. There are living things there, even if someone can’t readily exploit them. At all times <br />resist euphemisms, arcane acronyms and stupid terms of art like passive recreation, a <br />contradiction in terms. <br /> <br />Stop rolling downhill like a snowball headed to hell, to quote Merle Haggard. <br />Quit pretending to transparency if you stow items of import on the consent agenda, <br />where you know they’re hidden in plain sight. There’s little openness in sacrificing public <br />consideration to shorten a meeting or avoid discomfort. <br /> <br />Act sincere, even if you don’t mean it, to quote Harry Truman. <br /> Politicians calculate everything by its impact on their electoral prospects, and never stop <br />running. Public servants try foremost to do what principle and common sense tell them is best <br />for their constituents, human and otherwise, and shoulder the consequences of their decisions. <br /> <br />Guide and guarantee.