Chairman, Barrow BOC: Jim Beckemeyer
Name: James (Jim) Beckemeyer
Post seeking: Chairman, Barrow County Board of Commissioners
Family (children, spouse and their ages): Wife, Michelle Beckemeyer; son, Liam Beckemeyer, 4; and daughter, Frances Beckemeyer, 1.
Career/occupation: Farmer/conservationist.
Describe your background:
I was born in Atlanta to Frances and Delmont Beckemeyer. In 1970, we came to Barrow. I attended Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga., through the 12th grade, then Gainesville College and the University of Georgia, where I majored in business administration and forestry.
Because of my love of Barrow County, I have always taken an active role in the community. As a young man, I volunteered with the Barrow County Fire and Emergency services, working fire/rescue for 12 years. Later, I was appointed to the Barrow County Planning Commission, and served as chairman for a portion of that term. I resigned that position to take elected office as District 6 Commissioner on the BOC for four years.
I am trained and certified as a county commissioner in the State of Georgia. Five years later, I was asked to serve on the Barrow County Water and Sewerage Authority, and was elected chairman of the authority.
Professionally, my roots have always been in agriculture, as I am a farmer. However, my career has been a broad ranging one. I have worked in the field of agriservice and conservation consulting for the better part of my life, but additionally I am an explosives expert, former owner of a textile manufacturing company and worked for the federal government. I don't believe in putting all of your eggs in one basket!
The potential expansion of the airport has been a hot-button issue in Barrow County. What is your position on the topic?
If you are buying hay for $5 per bale, and then sell the hay for $5 per bale, you don't go buy a bigger truck!
Our local airport is one of the finest general aviation airports to be found. I do not believe that further runway expansion is needed, nor is the installation of an aged ILS. The condemnation of the Smith family farm is a huge injustice, and the wasteful purchase of the Segar land is without purpose or merit.
Barrow County continues to experience strong growth. What are your plans to deal with the growth in a way that will preserve a good quality of life for Barrow citizens?
I will not support growth for the sake of growth, as not all growth is "good growth.”
I will look at zoning from the perspective of "Is this project going to create burden on the tax base?”. Infrastructure construction will be studied from the aspect of not just what is the cost of construction, but what will be the impact and long range cost of the project.
At least two citizens’ groups addressing various issues have recently been established in Barrow County. In what way will you work with these citizens’ groups to see that their concerns are addressed?
I have joined with both. Barrow County desperately needs citizens to shed the shackles of apathy, and get involved in the future of the county. For too long, people have felt that their voices don't matter, so why bother. I hope we will see a change in this attitude!
The rising costs of the proposed Cultural Arts Center have been a concern. Do you think this is a project that Barrow County needs and can financially support?
This white elephant is a waste of taxpayers’ money, it was designed to line the pockets of a few people with millions of dollars from our pockets.
The current administration has achieved what it wanted from the project by getting infrastructure to the location to help market real estate, and thankfully they have put the construction "on hold.” There has been no business plan, and legal questions exist. I will get Barrow County out of the real estate business and get us back to the business of protecting health, safety and welfare. We should let the private sector do what our free enterprise system allows it to do best, without governmental pandering.
With the economy getting tighter, what would you propose trimming from the budget and why?
I will propose zero-based budgeting for our government to put an end to year-end spending sprees . . . it is the old problem of "well, if we don't spend it this year, we won't get it next year.”
I also will propose a program that gives the employees a vested interest in saving money from the budget. I have no plan to micromanage the budget, but I will insist that department heads do!
Please let me explain why I say "propose,” although it doesn't seem to be working under the current administration. The charter is very clear — The chairman works for the commissioners!
There isn't much room to cut dollars from the administrative budget, it is the huge level of "project" spending that is what we must curtail before the debt service overwhelms the taxpayers. We are paying only interest on much of our borrowed funds, and the principal payments are going to hit us like a ton of bricks.
What are the three biggest issues that Barrow County must address over the next five years?
•Water! We do not have enough, and have waited until we are in a crisis to take any actions. Furthering the problem, there are thousands of rezoned lots that have yet to come online to use more water, and we are building unrestricted sewerage systems that are creating almost exclusively high density, residential, end users for our scarce water resources. I will work to secure new water sources. I will make sure that all county facilities institute conservation measures. I will end the failed enforcement of erosion control laws, and protect our streams and wetlands from poor development practices.
•Public safety: I want the citizens to have the very best Fire/EMS/E911 service, we can afford. We have spent so much money on pork projects, and have cut emergency services to the bone. I will end the “Us” and “Them” attitude between the county and the cities, and work together to provide level service for all Barrow citizens.
I will support the sitting sheriff with sensible budgeting.
•The current administration has mortgaged the future of our children, we must turn the ship. In this tightening economy, we are seeing other governments that are cutting critical service, because of a lack of forethought. We must plan better and stop pandering with borrowed tax dollars before we too crash into the rocks.
What new services, if any, do you propose if elected to office? How do you propose to pay for this service? I am a huge fan of less government. I want to focus on health, safety and welfare, not more government. The one thing that I will do is to propose the creation of a new position for a grant writer. We are missing out on so much state and federal money, simply because we are not pro-active in the grant process. The position should more than pay for itself by bringing our money back to Barrow.
Post seeking: Chairman, Barrow County Board of Commissioners
Family (children, spouse and their ages): Wife, Michelle Beckemeyer; son, Liam Beckemeyer, 4; and daughter, Frances Beckemeyer, 1.
Career/occupation: Farmer/conservationist.
Describe your background:
I was born in Atlanta to Frances and Delmont Beckemeyer. In 1970, we came to Barrow. I attended Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga., through the 12th grade, then Gainesville College and the University of Georgia, where I majored in business administration and forestry.
Because of my love of Barrow County, I have always taken an active role in the community. As a young man, I volunteered with the Barrow County Fire and Emergency services, working fire/rescue for 12 years. Later, I was appointed to the Barrow County Planning Commission, and served as chairman for a portion of that term. I resigned that position to take elected office as District 6 Commissioner on the BOC for four years.
I am trained and certified as a county commissioner in the State of Georgia. Five years later, I was asked to serve on the Barrow County Water and Sewerage Authority, and was elected chairman of the authority.
Professionally, my roots have always been in agriculture, as I am a farmer. However, my career has been a broad ranging one. I have worked in the field of agriservice and conservation consulting for the better part of my life, but additionally I am an explosives expert, former owner of a textile manufacturing company and worked for the federal government. I don't believe in putting all of your eggs in one basket!
The potential expansion of the airport has been a hot-button issue in Barrow County. What is your position on the topic?
If you are buying hay for $5 per bale, and then sell the hay for $5 per bale, you don't go buy a bigger truck!
Our local airport is one of the finest general aviation airports to be found. I do not believe that further runway expansion is needed, nor is the installation of an aged ILS. The condemnation of the Smith family farm is a huge injustice, and the wasteful purchase of the Segar land is without purpose or merit.
Barrow County continues to experience strong growth. What are your plans to deal with the growth in a way that will preserve a good quality of life for Barrow citizens?
I will not support growth for the sake of growth, as not all growth is "good growth.”
I will look at zoning from the perspective of "Is this project going to create burden on the tax base?”. Infrastructure construction will be studied from the aspect of not just what is the cost of construction, but what will be the impact and long range cost of the project.
At least two citizens’ groups addressing various issues have recently been established in Barrow County. In what way will you work with these citizens’ groups to see that their concerns are addressed?
I have joined with both. Barrow County desperately needs citizens to shed the shackles of apathy, and get involved in the future of the county. For too long, people have felt that their voices don't matter, so why bother. I hope we will see a change in this attitude!
The rising costs of the proposed Cultural Arts Center have been a concern. Do you think this is a project that Barrow County needs and can financially support?
This white elephant is a waste of taxpayers’ money, it was designed to line the pockets of a few people with millions of dollars from our pockets.
The current administration has achieved what it wanted from the project by getting infrastructure to the location to help market real estate, and thankfully they have put the construction "on hold.” There has been no business plan, and legal questions exist. I will get Barrow County out of the real estate business and get us back to the business of protecting health, safety and welfare. We should let the private sector do what our free enterprise system allows it to do best, without governmental pandering.
With the economy getting tighter, what would you propose trimming from the budget and why?
I will propose zero-based budgeting for our government to put an end to year-end spending sprees . . . it is the old problem of "well, if we don't spend it this year, we won't get it next year.”
I also will propose a program that gives the employees a vested interest in saving money from the budget. I have no plan to micromanage the budget, but I will insist that department heads do!
Please let me explain why I say "propose,” although it doesn't seem to be working under the current administration. The charter is very clear — The chairman works for the commissioners!
There isn't much room to cut dollars from the administrative budget, it is the huge level of "project" spending that is what we must curtail before the debt service overwhelms the taxpayers. We are paying only interest on much of our borrowed funds, and the principal payments are going to hit us like a ton of bricks.
What are the three biggest issues that Barrow County must address over the next five years?
•Water! We do not have enough, and have waited until we are in a crisis to take any actions. Furthering the problem, there are thousands of rezoned lots that have yet to come online to use more water, and we are building unrestricted sewerage systems that are creating almost exclusively high density, residential, end users for our scarce water resources. I will work to secure new water sources. I will make sure that all county facilities institute conservation measures. I will end the failed enforcement of erosion control laws, and protect our streams and wetlands from poor development practices.
•Public safety: I want the citizens to have the very best Fire/EMS/E911 service, we can afford. We have spent so much money on pork projects, and have cut emergency services to the bone. I will end the “Us” and “Them” attitude between the county and the cities, and work together to provide level service for all Barrow citizens.
I will support the sitting sheriff with sensible budgeting.
•The current administration has mortgaged the future of our children, we must turn the ship. In this tightening economy, we are seeing other governments that are cutting critical service, because of a lack of forethought. We must plan better and stop pandering with borrowed tax dollars before we too crash into the rocks.
What new services, if any, do you propose if elected to office? How do you propose to pay for this service? I am a huge fan of less government. I want to focus on health, safety and welfare, not more government. The one thing that I will do is to propose the creation of a new position for a grant writer. We are missing out on so much state and federal money, simply because we are not pro-active in the grant process. The position should more than pay for itself by bringing our money back to Barrow.
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