Phoo-ee

So the government study committee has released it's findings. Although we don't hear much about the group finding ways to save the taxpayer money anymore, we sure are reaping the benefit of their vision for tomorrow. They suggest combining some government departments and services but only after talking with department heads and the folks at the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) and the County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS). MTAS and CTAS are a fraud.  Their job is not to save anyone money, basically they are a group of bureaucrats advising local elected and appointed officials how to increase the size and cost of government without causing a riot. So as soon as you hear them mentioned, hold on to your pocketbooks. Because most of the reoccurring cost of government is for salaries and benefits, the only effective way to cut costs is to employ less people, so asking department heads for input is fruitless. Also, to really be serious about efficiency requires a toughness and impartiality that means the people making the changes can't be buddies with those suffering the cuts. Finally, the surveys and pubic input have to be organized and implemented with honesty and integrity and the compilation of data analyzed carefully and the group be personally responsible for the final result. Unfortunately, as I have mentioned before, this group, their findings and even the guidance of the famous attorney, Jimmy Logan, is a sham. It is not a radical new way of rethinking government as Logan would have you believe, it is just more of the same garbage we have become accustomed to but on this occasion it has been coated with a veneer of importance and respectability to fool us. To prove it, the group suggests combining some offices and services and duplicating others, all with political strings attached. The most stupid of all seems to be the groups fervent desire to set up an extra clerks office at Bradley Square Mall for out-of-hours issuing of vehicle tags and licenses. The out-of-hours part is an added service that may be popular at the extra cost, but to duplicate it at an edge of town location when there already exists a fully functioning office in a central location that could simply remain open longer, doesn't make sense. And to say that education and law enforcement are untouchable when they gobble up most of the resources doesn't make sense either. Combining fire departments is what city leaders have wanted all along so that isn't visionary at all and combining planning commissions may be more convenient for the developer but, because of the lopsided balance of city to county representation, would give county residents even less recourse if Cleveland's interests were at stake. Someone please tell me this was a joke. Tell me it was a masquerade before the real study is released. Please tell me Jimmy Logan was joking...

What do you think?

Money - Money - Money

The folks managing Cleveland seem to have accepted that the days of spend - tax - spend are over, at least for the time being. They are hunkering down for a protracted freeze on spending and wisely looking ahead to ensure they don't cause uncontrollable problems down the road. They recognize that the taxpayer is not in the mood for increases. They have looked after their people yet have shown restraint. Now it's the county's turn to show what they are made of. Last year's budget increased county spending by almost 10% when inflation was a little over 2%.  Admittedly the increase was absorbed without a property tax increase but increasing the budget by 10% a year can't be sustained indefinitely, even if county growth fills the gap. Last year's budget was a personal disaster for County Mayor, D. Gary Davis. He had completely lost control of some of his people's demands. Many departments seemed to be playing the game of - ask for four times as much increase as you need and finish with double what your want. It must be pointed out that some departments made honest attempts at restraint while others set a bad example. Davis now has to balance a budget that includes last year's 10% but is faced with department heads ignoring restraint and probably including those that made an effort last year. The taxpayer was promised less burden if growth in the county was encouraged but the dividends have yet to be forthcoming.  The increased revenue from growth is not the property of county government to spend on extras. Any excess over minimum operating cost should be returned to the taxpayer in the form of a lower tax rate. Make no mistake, the task ahead of D. Gary Davis is not a pleasant or easy one, but it is likely to make or break his reputation and set the stage for the future financial stability of Bradley County.

What do you think?


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