Budget Committee Decision

The Budget Committee is made up of Commissioners Wilburn (chairman), Woodard, Adams, James Harwell, Howell, Campbell and Jackson. Mrs Vanzant as usual is an ex officio member.

This committee has met on four different occasions to discuss and make decisions about the adoption of the county budget for 2010-2011.

After four meetings and much discussion the decision was finally made to send the budget to the full commission without a recommendation. There were efforts to identify and cut but no agreement could be reached.

It has been made very clear that after several years of adopting budgets that spent more than a million dollars over what the revenues were until now the county has less than a million dollars left in reserves.

While most on the committee agrees that the school budget is bloated and unreasonable they feel powerless to do anything about it. Most commissioners have refused to show any leadership and cut their own $52,000.00 budget. Over $60,000.00 is budgeted for travel which is much less that the $107,000.00 budgeted for travel by the school system but there is not a majority willing to cut even a dollar off these outrageous amounts.

So with no willingness to cut anything what is the solution. Commissioners Campbell and Wilburn proposed a $50.00 wheel tax but it was thankfully voted down by all the other commissioners on the committee. A $.35 property tax increase was suggested but again thankfully it was not accepted.

So now after more than a thousand dollars has been spent on meetings the raw budget is to be sent to the full Commission where they are "to debate" and decide what to do. While this may make for good theater it sure isn't any way to run a railroad. Allen Barrett