Georgia County Government-August 2008

CountyMatters The Year for Transportation C By Jerry Griffin Executive Director itizens often have a hard time understanding why things in government seem to move in slow motion. Local government officials share the same frustration from time to time when the wheels of the state and federal governments move more slowly than we think they should. Unfortunately, the solutions to most governmental concerns are not as simple as they may appear on the surface. Nowhere have we seen this more clearly illustrated as in efforts to solve Georgia’s transportation challenges. Congestion has reached a point where economic development is being directly impacted, as is the overall quality of life. Many of us envisioned an easy answer, being throwing more money into the massive transportation arena. Now we observe that few had any appreciation for the real issues surrounding transportation in Georgia. One person, however, did stop additional funding until questions could be answered about transportation fi nancing, and that was Governor Sonny Perdue. Clearly, everyone was not happy with the long delay for the governor to directly “address” this issue. We are now seeing that many systemic, longterm financial issues exist in the state’s transportation agency, which will require significant time and effort to repair. Governor Perdue has defi ned what is truly meant by running government with a businesslike attitude. In the quest to improve service delivery, government can certainly learn from methods used by private business. Top executives comprising the Commission for a New Georgia, working with the state’s top-level administrators, have accomplished much that will be reflected in state government operations well into the future. A working group of top state accountants reviewed how Georgia’s Department of Transportation stacked up with others in the region and nation. The effort uncovered a number of weaknesses, including the inability to deliver projects in a timely manner. Following a battle on the DOT Board, a new commissioner was brought on board to deal with the challenges. The process involved examining every aspect of the agency and presenting information to the Board and public. Many issues revolve around the multiple and antiquated accounting systems used by GDOT, none in sync with the others, the results of which surfaced as a shortfall of more than $1 billion in funding. An external audit has been completed and accounting and delivery mechanisms improved, and the DOT Board has established a committee MATTERS continued on page 10 ACCG and the other members of the Get Georgia Moving Coalition (GGM) formed last year are ready to support the comprehensive transportation funding plan that we anticipate from the state’s leadership. AUGUST 2008 www.accg.org 9 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government-August 2008

Georgia County Government- August 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters Georgia’s Transportation Issues More Critical to Counties than Ever Expanding Rural Airports: Partnering for Economic Development in Upson County Meet DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham Bridge Infrastructure and Risk Counties and the Law: Georgia’s Fair Employment Practices Act Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Coffee County Extension News: Infrastructure Investments Save County Funds Research Corner: Getting the Most Out of Your Research Discover the New Georgia Encyclopedia NACo News Staff News County Parade Index of Advertisers

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