County Bankrupt????????

Recently there seems to have been much protestations about the county not being bankrupt. It seems that the County Executive heard a rumor, according to her words, then made a very strong denial in a committee meeting, on the radio, in the Commission Meeting and in the newspaper. Doth the lady protest too much?

While I agree that the county is not bankrupt financially it is certainly headed in that direction. By her own words the County Executive stated the county is spending more than it is taking in. Certainly that's, in part, a problem that is caused by some months being periods of slow collections. There is a greater problem however in that when the budget was made it was adopted knowing that reserve funds would have to be used to finance it. Many times the budget committee, the financial management office, the county executive and the commissioners have been warned of the financial problems, even before the collapse of the markets, yet they have chosen to ignore the problems and increase spending even above what was originally budgeted for.

Three million dollars in reserve may sound like a lot but when you keep taking 10 an 20 an $30,000.00 chips away from it soon it's not so big.
Fact, Giles County has a shrinking tax base but continues to grow the government.
Fact, with a decreasing tax base and increasing expense a tax increase is on the way.
Fact, with a shrinking population and increasing unemployment how can the people who are left pay the increased tax burden?

While the county may not be bankrupt at this moment it's leadership is certainly bankrupt of common sense and a will to control spending. Allen Barrett

Surprise of Surprises!!!!

The position in the Financial Management Office has been filled by none other than Karen Higgins formally of the County Executive's Office.
After one announcement in the paper that the job was open, that coming on Thursday with the deadline for resumes to be in on Monday, interviews were held and Ms. Higgins
is now employed by the Financial Management Office.
I suppose progress is being made at least there was an announcement and an interview, unlike some jobs.
Now the question arises as to whether there will now be an opening in Mrs Vanzant's office or will there no longer be a need for another expensive go-fer.

Hunter Smith One More Time !!!!!

What's happening with the Hunter Smith Building, nothing good or cheap. Many have noticed the latest addition to the Hunter-Smith building, a nice canopy of sorts built on the north side. This isn't to keep the rain off those on the sidewalk but to keep the plaster and brick off their pretty heads. As the building continues to sit waiting for the imaginary "white knight" to come buy it for a million bucks it continues to rack up huge expenses and liabilities. The talk now is to have someone scrape the plaster from the bricks at an estimated cost of about $50,000.00. It may be much higher when the person actually inspects the building and sees that it's the plaster that is holding up the bricks.
One question is what happened to the "many offers that were coming in each month" as reported by the County Executive when she advised the Budget Committee against selling the building for, if I remember correctly $125,000.00. It seems the County Executive and some commissioners wanted $150,000.00 so the only real offer that has been officially presented to the commission was turned down. Meanwhile that desire for another $25,000.00 has cost the county at least $150,000.00 or more.
Realistically, and most commissioners know this but are unwilling to make such an unpopular decision, the only thing left for this decrepit eyesore is to tear it down and either sale the lot or build on it. It is way past time for something to be done with this bottomless money pit. It was a mistake to buy it in the beginning and an even bigger mistake to hold on to it instead of admitting it was a mistake and getting rid of it even at a loss. In total all expenses including tearing it down and hauling it off I estimate the county will have paid out well over half a million dollars. Each month that cost goes up. Allen Barrett

$20,000.00 added to budget for custodial care

After a heartfelt plea by the County Executive during the County Commission Meeting the commissioners, with the exception of David Adams, voted to move $20,000.00 from building upkeep to hire of a new custodian. According to the statement of the County Executive not all the money will be used for salary but she doesn't know if it will be a full time or part time position. The County Executive stated justification for this new hire was because the current custodians could no longer do the work. She outlined some of the problems the custodians were faced with including the annex and the requirement to clean the Suntrust part.

Only one question was asked by a commissioner. Commissioner Connie Howell asked, "if this is coming out of building upkeep this year will it come out of a different line item next year?" "Yes" was the answer from the County Executive. So this will be a new annual expense.
A couple of questions that should have been asked are, If Roger is primarily for maintenance and no longer has time to do any cleaning why is he spending approximately two hours a day (this according to the County Executive's statement this morning) sorting and delivering mail in the courthouse? Why isn't each office responsible for getting and sorting their own mail? If the custodian in the main courthouse doesn't have time to do all the cleaning why does she only work 35 hours a week and get full time pay? Until these questions are answered it seems more of a problem of supervision and time management than a lack of personnel.
If the problem is, as stated this morning by the County Executive, that the people simply can not do the work anymore then isn't it time for replacements that can do the work or a cleaning service hired to do the cleaning?

Three Star Rating

The County and cities within have been given the prestigious "Three Star Award". The Three-Star Program is designed as a road map to assist local communities in their effort to achieve excellence in community and economic development.

New Attorney For Giles County

At the November County Commission Meeting this morning Ms Lucy Henson was appointed as the new County Attorney. This appointment will stand until the July meeting when consideration will be given for permanent appointment.