County Commissioner's Office

County Talk
By
Lamar Paris - Commissioner

Part V in a series - Final

Q.  What do you think the people in Union County prefer? Sole Commissioner or Commission Board?
A.  For the most part, the people in Union County have always preferred one commissioner because they know that he or she is accountable and cannot hide from responsibility or shift it to other people.  Union County voted NO to a multi- person commission in 2000 by a nearly 2 to 1 majority vote.  Towns County did the same in 2005, and in 2006, Bartow County (Cartersville-population 80,000+) voted NO to a commission board.  When the time is right, I am sure it will be on the ballot again.

Q. What are the relative costs of a Board of Commissioners vs. a Sole Commissioner?
A.  Every county is different, however all commissioners are required to go to new- commissioner training and if they are responsible, they will continue their training until they have achieved the advanced commissioner certification. This takes about two years.  Instead of paying for one person to go to training or conferences, the county ends up paying for three or five people.  Commission boards are usually paid less than a sole commissioner unless they have a full time chairman.  However, a good county manager or administrator (which most commission board’s utilize)  has the same general pay range as a sole commissioner.

Q. Are their other cost factors related to a commission board? 
A.  While the amount of money necessary for operation of a board would certainly be more than for a sole commissioner,  that is not the most significant cost.  The most significant cost is in the inefficiency of government and the increased cost with each commissioner having special projects they would like funded.  Also, with several commissioners you not only have their many varying opinions, but you also have the opinions and influence of the total of all their friends and relatives.  While public opinion is very important with any commission decision, in the end, those elected must bear the full weight of their decisions and sometimes,  persuasion and exchange of favors may not always be the best choice for the taxpayers. (ie  “You vote for what I want and I will vote for what you want.”)  More commissioners equal more government, good or bad.    

Q.  Isn’t it a larger problem when you get a bad sole commissioner?
A. If you elect a bad commissioner of any kind it is a problem.  With a commission board, if you do not like the direction they are moving a county in, with staggered terms, it usually takes several years to get them all voted out of office.  With a sole commissioner, it is fairly easy to vote just one person out.  Also, if he is doing a bad enough job, he can also simply be recalled.  So the citizens really have more control with one than with many.

Q. I came from a county with a commission board, and it seemed we could never get them pinned down for a decision.  We were having to go from one to the other and in the end, there seemed to be plenty of blame to go around.  We love Union County and this form of government and the low tax rate.  Please don’t change it.
A.  Well, I decided to just close this series with a statement rather than a question.  The above comment is typical of what I have heard many times regarding our form of government.  This is an issue that everyone will not agree with, but most have made their opinion known through the election process.  

Q. Are you trying to tell us that a commission board can not work well for a county?
A.  Absolutely not.  I am simply telling you that in many counties, they do not always function as they should.   However, this is certainly not to say that a commission board can not function well, because they do in many counties.  Rabun County is one where they seem to all get along well and they have a well run county.  However, Rabun County has a property tax rate of 9.51 mils, compared to our 5.1 mils, which is 85 % higher property tax than Union County. In fact, Dawson, White, Banks, Lumpkin, Habersham Jackson, Rabun and Stephens, all in our Northeast corner of the state,  have property tax mil rates over 8 mils and two counties over 9 mils.  So in any of those counties, your property taxes will be significantly higher than ours.  Is that because of the commission board?  I do not have the answer to that. But I can tell you that Towns County and Union County have two of the lowest tax rates in the state.  I do not think it is a coincidence that we are both governed by sole commissioner forms of government.

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