County Commissioner's Office

County Talk
By
Lamar Paris - Commissioner

Part III  

Q. It sounds like by giving us all this information about how hard your job is you are trying to discourage anyone else from running for commissioner. Is that what you are trying to do with this series of questions?
A. Absolutely not.  I welcome anyone else that wants to run. That is the American way and the way in which I became elected.    However, it is only fair that anyone considering running for this position knows what this job is about. It is very different than it used to be a few years ago.  You have always had to be tough and be willing to listen to all kinds of people and try to solve their problems, but with the population increase and the employment laws, the issues have expanded significantly. You must know or learn a little about everything, with the most important subjects being money and roads, as these two issues are involved in many of your decisions.  In fact, in nearly every decision you make, money is an issue. So having a detailed understanding of budgets and financial administration is very important.  

Q. How much are you involved with the county finances?
A. Totally.  While I have an excellent finance department, all financial matters are my responsibility which I take very seriously.  I personally look at and sign all checks with the exception of payroll checks.  I have personally signed around 30,000 checks since taking office in 2001 with an average of 400 per month.  While I have staff that compiles the budget, I must look over and approve every individual department and elected official’s budgets. That means I have to look over every single line item of every budget, which is a total of 5,100 budget line items. Many of those numbers must be changed or reduced to keep our budget within bounds, with that being my sole responsibility.  This total budget number is then what is required to determine the county tax millage for the next year.  I have just determined, based on our budget, that the county is going to be able to reduce property taxes this year by not only lowering the millage rate by the state required roll-back rate, but lowering it from 5.1 mils to 5.05. While certainly this is a very modest tax cut, considering the increased cost of operation of the county, I am very proud of this accomplishment. At least it is not an increase.

Q. Someone, apparently from the local Republican Party, handed us a smear sheet outside Ingles.  It accuses you of being a tax and spend commissioner, wasting taxpayers’ money.
A. I can not be responsible for ignorance some people have with regards to what is necessary to operate Union County government. When I took office, the jail budget was around $125,000. Today it is well over $1.1 million. Our public safety budget in 2003 was $2,802,400. This year it is $4,471,538.  So what does the local Republican party want us to cut out?  How about fewer recreation programs for our youth, how about letting Meeks Park grow up and certainly not plant any flowers out there, how about lets have less firemen, less fire engines, less deputies, less ambulance service, less drug task force members, less animal control and less pay for our employees. Maybe they want to cut the District Attorneys budget so we will have less people in jail.  Oh yes, we could also cut the library and the health department.  Would the local Republican party be happy then?  Seventy-five per cent (75%) of our budget increases since 2003 were from Public Safety alone.   Also, don’t forget that road paving cost have nearly doubled along with increased cost in just about everything else in Union County government.  I am not wasting taxpayers money and the proof is that over 150 counties in Georgia have higher tax rates than Union County?  I am very proud of what Union County is accomplishing with your property tax money.  Our employees and all they accomplish for the people of Union County deserve more respect!!!  The operation of Union County government is not about party, it is about doing what is best for the people of this county. That, I will continue.

Q. If someone runs for commissioner, what other responsibilities will they have?
A. The commissioner, while the highest paid position in the courthouse, is the only elected official with no county/state funded retirement plan.  I would not advise you to run for this position if you have young children, because your family will not see you very much. Be prepared to do a lot of traveling alone and spending a lot of time at the State Capitol during the legislative session visiting with the legislature, department heads and different agency personnel.  When you need road projects funded, then you need to spend time at GDOT lobbying for assistance.  When you need aid from the Dept. of Agriculture, you must visit their office. One of the most important agencies to visit is the Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division.  In trying to protect our property rights, I have visited this office many times and served on several state wide committees. I personally know and have worked with several people in this agency and the DNR board.

Q. Is being able to use the computer an important factor in your role as sole commissioner?
A. Absolutely.  Because I am able to use the computer, I am able to write hundreds of letters, answer thousands of emails and keep up with state government agencies that now communicate almost exclusively through computer web sites and email. I have responded this year alone to over 3,500 emails and have read and processed a total of 8,500.  I have discarded thousands of junk emails that must be sorted through just to find the pertinent ones.  I have received over 130 messages and phone calls this month alone and have returned many thousands of phone calls in the last six years.  I make it a priority to return phone calls and emails.  Sometimes I may get a week or two behind on phone calls, but I try to eventually return every phone call.

Q. Do you still have time to accept visits from the public?
A.  Yes!  I am always available to meet with the public.  However, as you can tell if you have kept up with this series, you know that I am not always in the office because of other obligations.  The easiest and surest way to set up a meeting with me is to call my office at 706-439-6000 to make an appointment. However, I am glad to meet with anyone if you just walk in and I am available.  Union County has excellent employees and my staff will try to get you an answer or point you in the right direction if I am unavailable.

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