Letters policy: Send by e-mail to letters@gainesvilletimes.com (no attached files, please, which can contain viruses); fax to 770-532-0457; mail to The Times, P.O. Box 838, Gainesville, GA 30503; or click here for a form. Include full name, hometown and phone number for confirmation. They should be limited to one topic on issues of public interest and may be edited for content and length (limit of 500 words). Letters originating from other sources, those involving personal, business or legal disputes, poetry, expressions of faith or memorial tributes may be rejected. You may be limited to one letter per month, two on a single topic. Submitted items may be published in print, electronic or other forms. Letters, columns and cartoons express the opinions of the authors and not of The Times editorial board.
As a lifetime Hall County resident, as far back as I can remember our government leaders have been extraordinary and problems were dealt with appropriately. Our legacy in Hall County has always been to fix our own problems and not wait on someone else to do it for us.
There is very little we can do as individuals to fix the problems we have created with our Hall County commission, but as a group, we can fix them.
Since the new members of the commission came on board, all we have read and heard is how much they disagree and how much extra this costs us as taxpayers. It is discouraging to see the same three vote one way while the other two vote the other way in almost every instance, regardless of issue.
By my calculations, the action of the three-vote-block, since they took office, has cost our county an extra $260,000. Our county legal expenses were $99,000 last month; they are usually $35,000.
We are paying for two county managers, two assistant managers and two finance directors. That's an extra $80,000, $70,000, and $50,000, respectively, in severance. This is all going on while our county employees are being furloughed and the county is unable to afford to provide a 401(k) for its employees.
During these tough times, these are issues that should be of much greater importance than replacing the county attorney and managers for no reason except to make a change.
Now our commission has stooped to dealing with outhouse issues, literally. It seems Craig Lutz is so upset a park is being built in Billy Powell's district that he wants to make the park impractical at best and illegal at worst by doing away with restroom facilities.
This is irrational. Bathrooms might cost $20,000 to build and a few thousand dollars a year to maintain. But the county likely has a legal responsibility to provide facilities at the park, so the alternative to constructing the bathrooms would be to lease portable units at a much higher cost.
I do not reside in one of the districts that chose to elect Lutz, Scott Gibbs or Ashley Bell, so my vote didn't help put them there and my vote can't help to replace them. I am only trying to awaken the voters in those districts. You are either asleep at the wheel or full of apathy.
I am afraid the money the three have cost us is just the tip of the iceberg. This will be paid by property taxes or a reduction in services. Their constant bickering and petty disagreements will haunt our county for years to come.
Our commissioners should show fiscal and financial responsibility, rather than use their newfound power to intimidate other commissioners or serve their own personal agendas. Politicians today are self-perceived power brokers who spend our tax dollars on consultants to tell them what their decision should be. Now all we read and hear are reports of suspect decisions that should concern us.
There is one important thing missing. They don't seem to concern us, or at least enough to do something about it.
David Dye
Gainesville