Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A
The Braselton News
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Opinion
“Difference of opinion leads
to enquiry, and enquiry to
truth ” -Thomas Jefferson
letters
Says turn to God for rain
our views
Hoschton needs to
cut police budget
NEXT WEEK, the Hoschton City Council is slat
ed to take up further discussion about the town’s
2008 budget. That will be an important issue since
Hoschton finds itself in a financial mess owing to
poor budget planning for 2007.
Next year, the budget has to be right. There is
no room for error this time around. Crossed-fingers
and guesswork aren’t good enough to pull the city
out of its financial hole.
That’s why town officials need to take quick and
dramatic action to get spending under control, both
for the balance of 2007 and for next year.
There’s really only one way to do that — make
a dramatic cut in the city police department. Like
many small towns, the police department makes
up a large percentage of Hoschton’s total spend
ing, around 45-55 percent of the town’s general
fund.
That’s simply too much. Hoschton can’t absorb
that kind of expense in one department and expect
to have any funds for other needs.
While cutting Hoschton’s police funding may at
first appear draconian, it really isn’t. According to
data from the Georgia Department of Communi
ty Affairs, small towns the size of Hoschton (pop.
1,000-2,500) have an average general fund bud
get of $813,500 of which police is only $280,900 of
that total (2006 data.)
Now look at Hoschton’s 2007 amended budget
— currently $484,000 is for police expenses out of
a total budget of $800,000 in the general fund.
Based on DCA data, Hoschton’s police budget
should be more in the line of $260,000-$280,000,
not nearly half-a-million dollars.
That’s a lot less than what’s being spent today, but
it’s more realistic for a town the size of Hoschton.
If Hoschton officials are serious about getting a
handle on the town’s financial problems, they will
have to make some difficult choices, one of which
should be to cutback on the town’s law enforce
ment expenses.
The Braselton News
A Publication of The Jackson Herald &
Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc.
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706-367-5233
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Advertising Manager
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706-367-5233
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angie @ mainstreetnews.com
706-367-2490
Kerri Testement News Editor
kerri@mainstreetnews. com
706-367-5986
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PO Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549
General Phone: 706-367-5233
Dear Editor:
As citizens, I believe we are wise to ask in these
times of modern technology and human ingenuity
how we have arrived at such a critical water short
age with so little warning. We are also justified to
expect government authorities to impose water
restrictions and strict conservation measures to
make the available water last as long as possible.
Your editorial for this past week closed, “Plan
for the worst, hope for the best and let the public
know what’s going on every step of the way. That’s
what government is all about.”
Plenty of folks seem to have taken responsibility
for the “plan for the worst” aspect of this drought.
I’d like to offer some suggestions regarding the
“hope for the best” aspect.
One aspect of our “hope for the best” strategy
is the hope and belief that our neighbors in our
community, in our town and throughout the county
are taking this drought every bit as seriously as
we are and that we all are now practicing conser
vative water use in our homes. Make no mistake
- regardless of the outcome we are in this drought
together as a community. We can choose to be
individualistic and selfish, or we can choose to be
communal and selfless. Our hope is that most if
not all choose the latter.
Another aspect of our “hope for the best” strate
gy is that our local, state and federal officials might
find a way to extend our water resources a little bit
beyond the current projections while we wait and
hope for the much anticipated and needed rain.
But if no additional rain falls, sometime in Janu
ary 2008, our home water pipes will run dry. And
therein truly lies the crux of this crisis.
From where will the much needed rain come?
For some, the answer seems to be found in
expecting and hoping that mother nature will pro
vide the rain. If we believe that rainfall is simply
a random act or consequence of the forces of
nature, then all we can really do is wait and hope
that those forces will meet our needs.
For others, including myself, the answer and the
preferred “hope for the best” strategy is expecting
and hoping that God will bless us with the much
needed rain, or possibly more miraculously (at
least in our eyes) pouring out the much needed
water from the springs of the earth. Or perhaps
God has some solution men have yet to even pon
der or consider. If we believe our water is divinely
provided, then we wait and hope that God will
provide.
I won’t be either so bold or so foolish as to sug
gest that this drought is some kind of punishment
or condemnation from God. Nor will I be so bold
or so foolish to blame God for this water shortage.
All I can truly do is evaluate what part I may have
played in this crisis.
I have always used water out of the faucet like
it was coming from a never-ending supply ... no
more. Perhaps there are things God would have
each of us learn about Him and about ourselves
in the midst of the trials of this drought. Perhaps
not.
As Jesus taught, our Father in heaven knows our
every need. His desire is not that we worry about
‘What will we drink?’ or even about what tomorrow
holds. His desire is that when we find ourselves
in the midst of such a crisis that we will place our
faith or trust in Him and in His provision for us and
for our needs.
I truly believe that in the midst of this drought,
God would have us turn our hearts to Him and
lift our voices individually and together in prayer
for the much needed rain. Perhaps those prayers
begin in an early morning or late evening quiet
time. Some of these prayers could be offered up
in the midst of a drive to work. Maybe they are
offered up together with our children at bedtime.
Perhaps our requests are lifted up as a family over
dinner. Or maybe in a neighborhood gathering we
share our needs in prayer. Or perhaps we take a
few minutes with co-workers and seek God’s pro
vision. And then it moves into our church families,
our communities, our towns and all of Jackson
County.
Hopefully one day soon, we will find ourselves
a bit stronger for coming through this crisis, we
will find our lakes and reservoirs filling or full once
again and we will join together in thanksgiving
and praise to the God who heard and answered
our prayers.
Sincerely,
Bernie Webb
Hoschton
A new driver at the wheel
IT’S NOT exactly what you would call a strong mandate. The State Transporta
tion Board voted by only a 7-6 margin last week to select Gena Lester Abraham as
the next commissioner of the Department of Transportation, which means she will
be the first woman ever to hold that important position.
Whether she will end up loving the job or hating it is another
matter. Georgia is hopelessly behind on dealing with its traffic
congestion and legislators tend to blame DOT for not working
quickly enough to get highways built. Some lawmakers, like
Speaker Glenn Richardson, are also very displeased that the
Transportation Board members picked Abraham instead of
state Rep. Vance Smith, who badly wanted the appointment.
Abraham has the academic credentials (a doctorate in civil
engineering) and the experience (she has been in charge of
state government construction projects for several years) that
would be essential for a position like DOT commissioner.
Gov. Sonny Perdue backed her because he and her other
supporters feel she can bring about a cultural change in the
enormous bureaucracy that has run the DOT for so many
years.
She does present a contrast to past commissioners, who were either career
engineers moving up the DOT ladder or political cronies of the governor.
Abraham has never worked as a DOT employee and she isn’t limited by any
allegiance to departmental traditions. While it was Perdue who lobbied the Trans
portation Board members to appoint her, she actually got her first job in state
government when she was hired during the Roy Barnes administration to oversee
the renovation work on the state capitol.
Obviously, Abraham can bring a new way of looking at things as she takes con
trol of the massive department that has nearly 6,000 engineers and employees
on its payroll. It probably wouldn’t hurt to look at DOT’S established procedures
and see if there aren’t any better and faster ways for a highway to be designed,
paid for, and built.
Will a shakeup in the DOT culture be enough to deal with the traffic congestion
crisis that threatens, along with the water shortages, to choke the life out of the
state’s economy?
There are some people who contend that the only problem with DOT is that it
operates inefficiently in carrying out its mission of building our roads and bridges.
By naming someone with a new approach to running the department, like Abra
ham, they say that DOT can save all sorts of money that can be used to pay for
additional new highways without anyone having to raise taxes.
That might not be enough. Even if you assume, for the sake of argument, that
Abraham is such a skilled leader she can squeeze an additional 10 percent out of
the department’s budget through better management, you’re talking about $200
million in extra funding at most (DOT spends about $2 billion a year).
If she could save that much money in administrative costs, that would be great
for the taxpayers. It would make barely a dent, however, in the funding shortfall
that Georgia faces in the area of transportation infrastructure.
To build enough highways to cope with current and projected traffic congestion,
Georgia would need about $7 billion to $8 billion more than it figures to bring in
under the existing tax structure over the next decade, according to transportation
experts. Even if the state should decide that mass transit is a better alternative
than building new highways, it would still cost billions of dollars to buy buses and
install commuter rail facilities.
Abraham’s an intelligent person who knows the construction trade, but she’s
no miracle worker. She can’t make billions of dollars suddenly materialize out of
nowhere.
If they really want to deal with Georgia’s traffic mess, our political leadership is
going to have to give up the idea that we can solve all our problems if we just cut
taxes some more. Highways cost money. Transit systems cost money. Govern
ments can only raise money by levying taxes. The governor and the legislature
are going to have to make some hard decisions in that area.
Traffic congestion is out of control - the evidence is there for anyone with the
eyes to see it - and eventually we’re going to have to pay for some kind of solu
tion. There’s no such thing as free asphalt. The greatest DOT commissioner in
the world couldn’t escape that basic economic fact.
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s Georgia Report, an Internet news
site at www.gareport.com that covers government and politics in Georgia.
An ‘old’ saying
about age
I’M NOT that old - really, I’m not
old. I’m a year shy of 30.
I haven’t been conscious of
my age since 21 - when I could
officially buy alcohol. Before that,
I was aware of my age when I
turned 18 and could cast a vote.
And before that, it was 16 when
someone could
give me keys to
a car and I could
drive myself
and my friends
around town.
Heck, I even
remember being
11-years-old and
telling my friends
I had five years
until I turned 16
and that means I
don’t have to listen to my parents
anymore - I could get in my car
and drive away if I didn’t agree
with them.
Oh, how age changes you.
Last weekend, James and I
went to a haunted house in At
lanta that we last visited seven
years ago. That was before we
had our college degrees, before
we started our careers, before we
got married and before we had a
baby.
Seven years ago, we stood in
that long line with the thousands
of high school and college kids -
we blended in with the crowd. But
approaching the age of 30 - and
standing in that same line with the
younger crowd - we couldn’t help
but notice our age.
We’re not old that old - really,
we’re not that old.
I couldn’t even enjoy the haunt
ed house like in my younger days.
Instead of being scared out of my
wits, I found myself analyzing the
logistics of the haunted house.
I wondered how many people
worked there, what kind of profit
margin they have and how much
they paid for that big prop that’s
supposed to scare me.
A few weeks ago, I was talk
ing with a co-worker about “all of
those youngsters.”
“All of those youngsters?” Geez,
that’s a comment my grandpar
ents would make - but not me, I’m
not that old.
Also, I now find myself actually
paying attention to commercials
promoting anti-wrinkle creams. I
don’t have any wrinkles - really, I
don’t. But am I approaching that
age where I’m willing to pay $30
for a moisturizer that promises
a youthful appearance? That’s
something my mom would worry
about - but not me, I not that old.
I once made the comment to
a senior attending doctor at the
hospital that it was weird that in
terns and residents - doctors now
younger than me - take part in
my daughter’s medical care. I’ve
always had this image in my mind
of how “old” doctors “should be.”
“Oh, you think it’s weird now,
wait a few years,” the attending
doctor said. “I was like a ‘Doogie
Howser’ during my residency, but
I aged really fast.”
That’s the funny thing about age
and how it really does follow that
“old” saying - you're only as old
as you feel.
Kerri Testement is news editor
of The Braselton News. Her e-mail
address is kerri@mainstreetnews.
com.
Keri Teste
ment
kerri@mainstreet-
news.com