EDITORIAL: Keeping an eye on the ball

Much of this is driven by the “politics of personality” — who is friends with whom, family relationships, political paybacks and petty grievances that get magnified into pseudo-controversies.

Maybe it’s time for everyone to take a deep breath.

There are a number of real issues that confront Barrow County and its towns. The overriding concern today is the economic downturn, which has slammed county finances and the budgets of the county’s municipalities. Not since the 1930s has any local elected official had to confront the kind of difficult financial decisions now facing all elected officials in Barrow County.

No doubt, much of the current political turmoil is driven, at least in part, by turf-protecting from those who don’t want their budgets cut. Every public agency has its defenders.

But every department in every local government is going to feel the impact of the economic downturn and the resulting decline in government revenue. There’s no escaping the fallout of these difficult times.

These very real financial problems feed the discontent and magnify it, sometimes in ugly ways. Although there are legitimate issues to debate, when the talking starts to focus more on personalities than on the real issues, all sides have lost perspective.

Is Barrow’s political culture going to be style over substance, or substance over style?

The bottom line: Both public officials and citizens must all keep an eye on the financial ball — and take the appropriate actions to stem the flow of red ink before it engulfs government budgets.

This economic crisis and its impact is too big for other, unproductive distractions.