How’s the old saying go about “be careful what you wish for because you just might get it?” Well, a perfect case of that scenario has been brewing in Barrow County for several weeks now.
There is a major push to change the county government setup from an elected chairman, who works in the position on a full-time basis to a form of government where a county manager is hired to run the day-to-day operations of the county. The chairman’s role would be greatly reduced.
It doesn’t take perfect vision to see many people don’t like how first-time county chairman Danny Yearwood has conducted business since taking office in 2008. Anyone in Yearwood’s position is going to have his or her share of detractors, but it seems, at times, those against the current chairman have bordered on gathering with pitchforks in hand.
One thing that should be remembered is that Yearwood inherited an absolute mess. It should also be remembered that he was not the only candidate seeking the job. He was one of two challengers to the incumbent. Clearly, voters felt a change in the direction of the county was needed.
Yearwood’s election came on the heels of our paper being launched. Once we began looking into various aspects of the Barrow County government (something which has not been done by other publications) it was astonishing to see certain county employees making salaries which were completely out-of-touch with the private sector and, of course, at taxpayer expense. Fortunately, many who were making those salaries, including one prominent employee above the six-figure range, are now gone.
Has Yearwood done a perfect job? He would probably be the first to tell you he has not. He has never been in this type of position before and a natural learning curve was going to take place. However, to make a push for a change in county government really is not necessary. If you don’t like the job Yearwood is doing, then vote him out of office. It’s really that simple.
Is this push for a county manager, of whom the voters would have absolutely no say so about, for the best? I think not. You can look at other counties where a manager style of government is used and quite frankly they have been a disaster. The bickering and infighting is often rampant.
And who’s to say if the people elect a new chairman next year that the citizens of Barrow County would still want that power taken away from them? It’s similar to what we hear about term limits. We already have term limits. No elected official is guaranteed any amount of time in office. If the voters don’t like the job the elected person is doing, then they can quickly be voted out during the next trip to the voting booth.
It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see there will likely be several candidates for county chairman in 2012, provided the current system is still in place. However, if it is changed, then who knows how many will bother to run.
To take away the voice of the people in terms of electing a full-time county chairman is not a direction Barrow County should go in. A county of this size needs a county chairman working every day, not one who spends a handful of hours on the job. I don’t want an appointed county manager — who does not have to answer to me — to have control over what takes place in Barrow County. That is only courting disaster.
So even as some of you have your pitchforks in hand, remember this: you have the power in saying who operates the day-to-day business of our county. Your voice at the ballot box is what should matter, not what a handful of commissioners say. We shouldn’t want this power taken away from us. The previous chairman was voted out and the current one can be as well.
Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
I would remind you that the Charter Committee obtained input from many citizens in this county during several scheduled public meetings. Ample time was given to each citizen to comment. I attended the Winder meeting, and spoke in support of the current changes at the begining of that meeting. Your point of view was also represented by at least 1 other citizen who was in attendance there.
The Charter Committee was formed by the BOC to obtain input from Barrow County citizens,and to compile those comments, and after ample debate voted on which suggestions would be given to the BOC. The Charter Commission did the job they were requested to do,and did it well. The BOC after considering the report by The Charter Committee,voted to agree with the Commission report and send it to our state delegation. No pitchforks, no flaming torches, no witch hunts. The BOC simply doesn't see it your way Mr. Bridges, and after all they run our county business don't they? Maybe you should have made your editorial an open letter to the BOC instead.
Respectfully submitted,
DuWayne R. Anderson
Winder,GA
Lord knows Yearwood was woefully unprepared to assume the leadership reigns of government, as he has often demonstrated to embarrassing extremes, but you can't fault him for settling for the status quo. Many times it seems like he has good intentions, but that gets lost because of his defensiveness, pettiness and temper. Unfortunately for the citizens, he's not the only member of the BOC with such character flaws. Only the most visible, and loudest.
I just pray we do a better collective job as voters in the next election by choosing those actually qualified for the office, and not on the basis of who one went to school with, church with, or whose Daddy knows who. But based on past elections in this county, I'm not optimistic.
From Barrow County News - "Yearwood says no to raising taxes, yes to spending cuts"
From Barrow County Journal - Where is BOC budget going? -> "At Tuesday night’s BOC meeting, Chairman Danny Yearwood again talked about the idea of raising the millage rate 2 mills in order to cover debt service on the bonds issued by the Winder-Barrow County Industrial Building Authority and the Joint Development Authority of Winder-Barrow County.
From Barrow County Journal - Yearwood proposes 2-mill tax hike for debt; another 2 mills may be needed for county operations - > "it would mean a 39 percent rate hike for county residents and a 49 percent rate hike for Winder residents."
Not to meantion all the wasted tax dollars from law suits for racial harsement, sexual harsement and plan old run'm out of business no matter what it cost cause I said so... , freinds of the Chairman and temper tantrums from the "I'm not accountable to anyone Chairman"
How many more failed businesses, farms / homes / sub-divisions at auction, before its enough Barrow?
What Barrow needs is an honest candidate with the guts to tell it like it is, and move to fix the problems on day one in office. There is no substitute for honesty, teamwork and a can do attitude. We have many potential candidates who fit that bill, but the question is, will they step up to the plate and run?
DuWayne
Once there is a qualified county manager running the show then all the juciy stuff will dry up and they will have to make up more "stories" to titillate the audience.
Yearwood has made it very easy for this "newspaper" and Bridges knows they will have to work harder in the future.
As usual, you look just silly. Look, why dont you stop muching off family and community, disability, or whatever, and get a job. Helena didnt work for you, but aleast try again. You try so hard on blogs, perhaps you should give that same effort to finding a job. You cant win any elections in Barrow.