With the ringing of the New Year’s bell, comes a host of new elected officials in Barrow County.
Voters decided in the past year change was needed and change is what we got. Only time will tell if that change was for the best, but here’s one piece of advice which new, and old, elected officials would be wise to follow: Be cautious how you spend taxpayer dollars.
Too often funds, which come directly from the taxpayer’s pocket, are thrown around like there’s no tomorrow. I guess local officials have a not-so-great model to follow in this; our national debt is at an all-time high. Since the current president took office eight years ago, the national debt has literally skyrocketed.
Billions and billions for a war which still has no end in sight along with an expanded role of the government to spy on its own citizens have caused the American citizens to be handed a bill which will never be paid. This doesn’t even count the billion dollar bailouts, which have to leave the average working man and woman out in the cold. No bailout in sight can be seen on the horizon for them as they struggle to make ends meet.
Hopefully, Barrow County will have a group of elected officials who will be a great deal wiser with tax dollars than this. On one hand you would think, “How could they not be?”
On the other hand, I’ve seen some crazy things happen through the years covering local governments and that includes the spending of taxpayer dollars.
With economic times at an extreme now, let’s hope the current BOC will remember there’s always room to tighten the financial belt a little more during 2009.
•Former county commissioner Bill Healan probably felt like a square peg trying to fit on a round board at times, but I give him credit for always standing by what he believed was right.
Healan lost his re-election bid last November, but despite his willingness to be outspoken during his time on the BOC, I tend to think his losing had more to do with the fact he has a “D” by his name, as in Democrat.
Still, Healan is commended for representing his constituents well and for questioning the former administration on any number of issues. Healan was not there to simply carry the BOC line. It’s nice to have a commissioner who acts on his own and does what he thinks is best. Let’s hope the new members on the BOC will follow the example Healan set during his time in office.
•Finally, let me give a big thank you for the overwhelming response we have had in recent days to our subscription special. Our office manager, Susan Mobley, along with Debbie Castellaw and Kathy Wilson in our company’s office in Jefferson, have had to do everything in their power to keep up with the number of subscriptions which have come in by phone, mail and in person.
It is obvious the citizens of Barrow County are starved for a publication that delivers the news in a professional manner and doesn’t sugarcoat what is happening. Rest assured, we will continue to report what is happening each week without fear or favor. The response we have received shows that is how you want it.
We’re just getting started and look forward to the new year and bringing news to you.
Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal. E-mail comments about this column to cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
