Would Some Communication Be Worth $75,000?

One could not observe yesterday's commissioners' meeting without having the distinct impression that at least most of them were still in shock at the defeat of the quarter cent sales tax. The public has been rather docile about the increases in property taxes in recent years and perhaps the commissioners thought since this was a much better deal (it was) that the public would go along.

Perhaps that is why the commissioners ignored warning after warning that they needed to be very specific about where the money was going. Maybe those who survive the fall election will remember the lesson.

From time to time some program has a cost overrun like having more juveniles in detention than budgeted or the state changes some rule and the commissioners have to do a budget amendment for say $10-20,000. This seems to bring up an obligatory, if mild, howl about these unexpected, budgeted expenses. This was not the case when the idea of bringing in what will be the third paid consultant to look at the situation at Lee County High School. Some costs in the range of $75K to $100K were brought up.

The need for this consultant was based on the recognition that it could be a long time before the renovation plan done by Hite and Consultants could be funded without the sales tax. Give the commissioners credit for hearing the many public speakers and public out cry about the basic health and safety concern. Now the question seems to be "we have to do something and what is the least we can do.". So the solution is to get their own consultant--something they can't do, however, without the permission of the schools and community college. You see, the law makes it clear that ". . . the repairing of all old school buildings shall be under the control and direction of, and by contract with, the board of education for which the building and repairing is done." The commissioners, however, have to make the decision how much money is appropriate to operate the schools.

There is an old saying that if you have two clocks you never know what time it really is. (This may no longer be true with the proliferation of radio signal clocks controlled by the nation's atomic clock.) But absolutely true or not, the saying still has merit. Why is the first idea here for the commissioners to go out and get yet another consultant's opinion? Why is it being set up in a way in which the schools will still have their plan and the commissioners end up with theirs?

The commissioners take time off in the summer having only one meeting in July, August, September. Why not take the time to set up a joint working group with the school board? Start by calling Hite and Associates in and asking for their reasoning on all the questions at issue? Perhaps they could, for a minimum fee, come up with a stop gap measure plan instead of having to get some other firm that would have to come in and start from scratch. Why should the taxpayers have to pick up the tab for much of the same work to be done again just because the commissioners want to be in charge of something that they can't even really control?

If we are going to have another study, lets make it a joint one and let's include some private citizens too and perhaps we can reach a consensus we can live with.