Barrow County department heads met last week to discuss ways in which the county could improve services for citizens.
Addressing members of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners at last Friday’s board retreat, planning director Guy Herring said he and fellow department heads identified seven primary areas of concern. These include customer service, infrastructure projects, recreation needs and employee retention.
As part of their meeting, the department heads also crafted a mission statement for Barrow County which states: “The Barrow County government is dedicated to promoting the highest quality of life through balanced growth, fiscal responsibility and efficient delivery of services for our community.”
To achieve those goals, Herring said he and other department heads would like to see improvement in the following areas:
• Communications — The department heads asked that a public information officer be hired to improve internal and external communications. The intent is to insure that department directors have one person of contact through which to distribute accurate information to the public.
• Recreation — Growth in Barrow County has led to increased demand for recreational opportunities. Assistant Administrator Michael Fischer said the county has two undeveloped parcels — 74 acres on Hwy. 124 in Braselton and 300 acres in Bethlehem — which could be developed for recreational uses, such as soccer fields, football fields, a skate park and a dog park. Fischer said the county’s teen population in particular needs recreational options. “Teenagers are really getting lost,” he said. “We’ve got to have a place for these kids.”
• Customer service — In an effort to insure all citizens can speak to a person when they call the county, the department heads agreed that a full-time customer service position should be added to the county budget. Herring said many citizens prefer human contact to voice mail and that a customer service representative could assist people in reaching the appropriate departments.
• Employee retention — The need to attract and retain qualified employees was named as another concern in Barrow County government. To help meet that goal, county leaders discussed various retirement options that could produce a more attractive benefits package for employees.
• Infrastructure — Barrow County has a large number of pending projects that need to be prioritized. County Administrator Keith Lee said it would be beneficial to have the board weigh-in on the prioritization of these projects. Lee said the county needs to pick the top weighted projects and allocate appropriate funding. Each project would be assigned to a project manager to oversee completion.
• Safety and security — In order to insure the safety of citizens and employees, increased security is needed at the county administrative building the group said. Several options to improve security were discussed.
• Commission meetings — department heads have asked that a work session be added to the BOC’s regular meeting schedule. The first meeting of each month would become the work session while the second would be the regular voting session. The work session would provide department heads with the opportunity to interact with the board. Commission Chairman Doug Garrison said he liked the idea of adding a work session, as long as any required votes would be held in either a called meeting or the regular meeting so citizens would have the opportunity to be present and have their concerns heard. District 2 commissioner Bill Brown agreed, adding that the work session should be held at the current 7 p.m. meeting time to allow citizens the opportunity to be present.
