Is one really better than the other?
Some folks think that because there are more five-man boards in Georgia than single commissioners that Walker County should follow the crowd. I’m not sure about that.
While trying to choose between two options, the first thing I consider is “what do I know that I know?” followed by “what do I know I don’t know?” and then of course there are things that “I don’t know that I don’t know.”
Here are some things I know:
· Walker County had a five-member board from 1873 until 1940.
· The Walker County grand gury on August 1939 reported: “We find our county in a deplorable financial condition…we believe that our bad financial condition is due to the system under which we are operating.”
· The grand jury could not find any fault with any individual board member, but recommended that the county’s legislative delegation introduce an election to vote for a change from a five-man commission to a one-man commissioner. The Georgia Constitution says we can do that. It is the only state in the union that grants the voters that right. Note: the voters must decide this issue, and not an elected official.
· On Sept. 6, 1939 the voters of Walker County voted by almost 2-1 to have a single commissioner as opposed to a board. The board membership can be any number from three to 11 as long as the number is odd.
Here are some things I don’t know:
· How expensive will a five-man board be? I heard the candidate running on the five-man board platform say that $10,000 per year is the most a board member can make.
· What are the qualifications for a board member, and why would anyone want to take a job making less than $200 per week and incur such potential liability. After all, kids flipping hamburgers make more than that.
· Would the county have to furnish liability insurance, health insurance, transportation to and from the meetings? Other counties furnish their members with cars to drive, I am told. I guess this would be something the board members would have to vote on once they were seated. How much would that cost?
· Who will the board hire to run the county? And will he or she do a good job? How much will you have to pay him? $100,000? $150,000? Good help is not cheap, and surely he would make as much as other managers of this type. Then there’s a car, insurance, expense account, etc. I guess all this would be decided by the board. I don’t like guessing about all this, but at this time that’s all I can do.
· How will the county be carved up into districts for each board member to serve, and who decides what this districting will look like? The state maybe? Grand jury?
· How will I know who to vote for board membership in other districts of the county, or will I just vote for the person in my district and not have any say in the rest of the county’s board members. Probably just as well, I wouldn’t know them anyway.
· How good would this board be at getting things done? Will they be responsive to the county’s needs in a timely fashion, or will it be grid-locked like Washington, D.C., unable to agree on the time of day?
Going to a new form of government (five-man board) for Walker County with all these unknowns for me is like looking at a blank sheet of paper. I need a lot more information before I could vote for a change in our present system. I think the only way to know how much a five-man board would cost and how good it would be is after the fact, not before.
Mac Hise, LaFayette
Walker County in 1940 was roughly $11,000,000 in debt when you factor in the cost of inflation over the past 71 years. Our current liabilities are around or over $30,000,000. You cannot seem to get a clear answer from Commissioner Heiskell,so that is a rough estimate.
There will be added expense with a five member board, but not excessively more. And with the changes Shaw has proposed, it should all work out in the wash. Any non-profit organization will have liability insurance for a board, so that is standard practice. I'm not an insurance agent, so I cannot estimate the costs.
Being an elected board member is no different than a city council, but on a county scale. Every city in Walker has a city council, and that system seems to work without much hoopla. Being a board member should not be a career; it's a privilege. It's also not a full time position. $10,000,000 a year helps weed out the people who do it for the money, from those who (theoretically) want to serve the people. Having four other council members, also keeps in check one person becoming too powerful. A county manager will be selected like any new employee, and there are several people under the current system that make six-figure incomes.
Someone else may want to chime in and correct me here, but districts will be chosen by population. Again, it's much like a city council, so you'd vote according to your district.
Yes, like with anything new, there are unknowns. There are also pros and cons to weigh out. If you Google this topic you should find enough research and information to help you make you better and informed opinion about moving to a multi-commissioner model. You can argue about the possibility of gridlock and added expense, but for me, the opportunity of equal representation and a balance of power outweighs the cons. I'd rather have an issue dissected to death, than one person making decisions based on their overall personal agenda.
Also remember, if Shaw is voted in, he still has work to do to make a five-member board a reality. He cannot wave a wand and be done with it. It will have to depend on the will of the people and legislative approval.