Georgia County Government - November 2008 - (Page 9)

CountyMatters Budget Cuts Unveil Harsh Economic Realities By Jerry Griffin Executive Director The state, as well as counties, cities and schools, all face real challenges in terms of being able to continue vital services needed by communities. We’re seeing each governing body focus on their respective duties in light of the revenues available. popular refrain in every election season is government “waste” and “budget fat,” as candidates try to out-promise each other as to who will cut the most. Unfortunately, the argument is always over ways to cut governmental budgets and never manages to focus on which services should actually be eliminated. Giving some thought to the options reveals the harsher realities of the current economic slump our nation, and our state, is facing. The dynamic associated with budget cutting that is often forgotten is that the easiest cuts to make are to maintenance and capital needs. This, however, often backfires. A lot of maintenance can be postponed for a long time, particularly if it’s buried or out of sight – as, for example, water and sewer treatment plants and lines. But even when such items are covered by enterprise funds, delaying maintenance or deferring needed capital outlay can result in additional transfers to the General Fund. Unfortunately these deferments can only go on for so long and then you have to pay the piper and the investment has to be made. There’s also a temptation too, to identify government services that can be cut back, which cause little notice. Unfortunately such cuts, can ultimately create problems. For instance, if communities have fewer policemen or one less fire station or one less ambulance or one less 911 operator, it certainly won’t create a catastrophe, but it can slow a response to a crime or fire or wreck. Society will continue, but the quality of or service will change. Those are not easy choices, but local elected officials have to make them to balance the minimum needs of the community with the citizens’ willingness and ability to pay. County commissioners and city councilmen face the voters every four years and a judgment is made on the choices they made. Unfortunately there is a tendency for state government and the federal government to impose additional priorities on communities and assigning the responsibility for financing to the local government. There is not an elected official at any level that doesn’t want to be tough on crime and criminals, but they must weigh the cost of the perfect system with the other needs of the community. Crime cannot be viewed as strictly a law enforcement issue. Certainly policemen and sheriffs are the first in the line, but there is also the jails, the prosecutors and defense attorneys for the indigent, the judges, the prison bed space, the inmate health care to be considered. Unfortunately achieving conviction on people who commit heinous crimes is often not possible without those autopsies and DNA tests, toxicology examinations, and the analysis of seized drugs that the state has historically done. If we can hold suspects, and if we cannot get convictions, we have to consider why we need more policemen. Again it’s not an easy answer, but in an era of limited revenue, hard choices have to be made. We believe the best choices are made when there is in-depth collaboration and discussion between county commissioners and legislators. MATTERS continued on page 10 NOVEMBER 2008 www.accg.org A 9 http://www.accg.org

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

Georgia County Government - November 2008 Contents President's Message County Matters Floyd County Leaders Foster Government That's 'Designed With Citizens in Mind' Staff News: ACCG Interns Georgia's Grand Old Courthouses: Hall County Extension News: ACCG and Extension Partner to Create 'Fellows' Program Research Corner: Resources Available Through ACCG County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - November 2008

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