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June
8, 2009
WHAT
HAPPENED AT THE COMMISSIONER’S RETREAT?
Bits and pieces are coming out about the retreat. 3
citizens did attend and have provided some information.
The auditor did confirm that the county
is in the hole $1 million for 2008. Thank you, Comm. Pennamon and Comm. Hill. No one ever heard you say anything about the
spending or the County
Manager not giving the
board correct figures during 2008. It’s
time you both stepped up and take responsibility for the incompetent County Manager
and the $1 million problem.
Commissioner Payne stated at
the retreat that “not much gets done during the meetings.” Wonder why?
TWG suggests you take a stand and vote with those that want to get
something done. You might be amazed at what
can be accomplished.
The County Attorney
pointed out that the BOC meetings are “public meetings not meetings of the
public.” Who does this attorney think pays his bills? Why is it so important to keep the public in
the dark and silent? We aren’t
mushrooms, and we do have brains. We
want to know what is going on and where our money is going.
Someone brought up that complaints
should go through the County
Manager or
commissioners. It was said that commissioners
cannot make good use of the time if they hear repeat complaints at
meetings. They probably wouldn’t have to
hear the complaints or repeat complaints if the County Manager
was doing his job and returning phone calls and actually doing what he says he
is going to do. The people have no one
else to turn to but the commissioners if the County Manager
isn’t doing anything about the problems.
This is the reason people have said they want the BOC back in charge
of our county government. Not a county
manager.
It was pointed out that ACCG
stresses that commissioners should not respond to the public or start a
dialog. And who elected the ACCG? The people elected the commissioners and
expect a response to a direct question.
What is wrong with that? The
commissioners appear arrogant when they won’t answer a question.
Comm.
Hill said he did not like to have public comments at the beginning of the
meetings because
he felt that the public was trying to influence him. Really? Why else do citizens call you, Comm. Hill,
other than to get you to vote for something they want? Why else would the citizens put you in office
if not to represent them and do what you can for our county?
The discussion on the County Manager
centered on his responsibilities. It was
brought up that they won’t vary much from his current job description. In a slip of tongue Mr. Williams said he never read
the job descriptions. That could be one
of the problems as to why it doesn’t seem he’s doing his job. TWG also thinks the county attorney is dragging
his feet in coming up with a job description so the search for a new County Manager
can begin. It’s already been a month
since it was first voted on.
Comm. Pennamon raised the
question if it should be a requirement that the county clerk live in the
county. C’mon Carl, we all know how you
feel about the county clerk. You’ve
tried things like this before. The duties of the county
clerk are maintaining county records and minutes and to serve the commissioners.
In order to do that she can live anywhere. If the clerk wants to commute
3 hours each way, that should be her choice. The county does not pay for mileage to work
and back home.
For
some reason Kathy Mudd, editor of the Monticello News, sat at the table with
the commissioners and participated in discussions. Isn’t her job is to report the facts as to
what actually happened? We hope that was
her purpose for attending. Three other
citizens were there. Why weren’t they
invited to participate and sit at the table too?
Commissioners stated
unanimously that they would not expense mileage and would pay for lunch out of
their own pocket. Big deal! The retreat should have been in Jasper County
so all the Commissioners could have attended and gotten on the same page. Isn’t that the purpose of a retreat?
TWG encourages citizens to be at the June
15th meeting—6:00PM—next Monday night. The auditor
will make the 2008 audit report so we all can hear it. There will also be a public hearing on the
new Planning and Zoning Ordinance. If
you don’t mind more control over your property by the local government and code
enforcement officer, you won’t need to attend, otherwise, we suggest you be
there and participate in the public hearing.
You can find the proposed ordinance here.
TWG
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Mission
Statement:
** To keep the taxpayers of Jasper County, Georgia
informed as to where and how their tax dollars are
being spent.
** To keep the taxpayers abreast of local policies
and laws being discussed and enacted.
** We advocate more open government, less government
spending, and lower property taxes.
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