BCC

If the agenda for first meeting of the brand new Board of County Commissioners is any indication, there should be a seamless transition of government leadership Tuesday afternoon.

The two veteran Commissioners will be joined by the three newcomers and do almost nothing. A review of the agenda shows there's no Old Business to handle. No New Business to take care of either. The County Manager doesn't have anything for the new Board members to do tomorrow. And, though it's hard to believe considering the amount of litigation surrounding county government, the County Attorney doesn't even have any legal business for the BCC to consider.

Go to the refrigerators in Clay County homes and you're likely as not to see a magnet holding a list of things to do. In my house, it's been a Honey-do List of little projects, usually simple, inexpensive stuff where the most important ingredients are a little time and effort, and most importantly a desire to please Honey.

I've got a magnet, but I think the state's Sunshine Laws (and probably the county administration building's security staff and the Sheriff's Office) prevent me from leaving my Honey-do List on the door of the refrigerator in the County Commissioners' break room. If I could, though, and the BCC wanted to invest just a little bit of time and effort to please me, a citizen and voter, here's what they'd take care of before they get too busy with all that other important stuff, like spending my tax contributions efficiently ...

Notes on the fly from today's 2 p.m. BCC meeting. ...

The Board of County Commissioners' meeting was only a couple of minutes late getting started today - another example of the improving efficiency of local government.

Since this is the last meeting before Veterans Day, an NJROTC Color Guard impressively presented the flag for today's Pledge of Allegiance. They and the veterans in the audience, standing at attention and saluting, gave me goosebumps. Afterward, more than a dozen vets, representing various veteran organizations in Clay County, joined the Commissioners up front to be officially recognized for their national service. (Sure wish my dad, a disabled veteran, was still around to share today's second round of goosebumps.) ...

-- The county's staff wanted Commissioners to approve $30,000 for 24 feet of wooden bridge to protect the roots of a century-old tree. I love trees, but 30,000 tax dollars for one bridge to protect one tree's roots - and the sidewalk would still end up affecting some roots anyway - is an awful lot.

Common sense made one of its rare BCC appearances and Commissioners decided, in a 3-2 vote, that there might be other places where our money might be better spent.

-- Chairman George Bush was in a snippy mood. When one citizen finished telling the Board that if it would take over a private road, it would be a win-win situation for everyone, Bush's response wasn't even to the citizen, but the Commission's recording secretary, Diane Walker.

Following November's election, either three or five people will stand in front of Mahogany Row on the fourth floor of the County Administration Building, raise their right hands (if they're not dyslexic) and swear an oath to, by God, do the best job they can in their new jobs as County Commissioners. Usually, they take a minute or two posing for pictures, then grab a seat in their new big, leather chair.

Between the pictures and their first official fanny print, there should be another step in the inaugural process. While the red and yellow dots from the photo flash are still swirling about on their retinas, each new County Commissioner should be grabbed about their shoulders by the largest citizen volunteers available (should be the easiest-to-fill volunteer assignments in local government history) and shaken until they return to reality.

To: Travis Cummings and Ron Raymond

Re: Election Day, November 4

Hey, fellas,

Things in the District 3 campaign got pretty quiet here on MCS after I had to drop out of the race. Then the discussions of the sheriff's race and, later on, the clerk's race got really nasty, and I sure couldn't blame any candidate who chose to avoid personal participation on the website.

But those races and that nastiness are over, it seems. So are you guys willing to join me here in a gentlemanly discussion of a few issues that concern me as a District 3 resident and voter? I promise I won't bring up animal control.

Is that what this has been? The gravy days? What kind of statement is that to make?

In case you haven't read the article from our BoCC Chairman here is the link.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/081608/nec_318834454.shtml

I've got some real issues with some of the statements in there.

The gravy days are over; It comes down to dollars and cents; That means a very tight budget. Well no kidding. There should never be any 'gravy days', it should always come down to dollars and cents and we should always have a tight budget.

My perception of government is that government's perception of my perception of government is grossly distorted.

Here's an example. When you're coordinating a large fleet of trucks that pick up and deliver a variety of supplies and equipment and perform various tasks thoughout the county, like in the Public Works Department, it's impossible to time things right down to the minute. In fact, it's pretty common to wrap up one job and not have time before the end of the work day to travel and replenish a truck's supplies, travel to a new job site and then complete that new job before it's time to clock out.

Clay County teachers will get a 3 percent pay hike next year. That weekly increase will disappear as soon as our teachers pump the 13th gallon into their tank. Still, every little bit helps members of the underpaid profession, and new teachers will start out making $37,800 annually. Or roughly 6 or 7 thousand bucks less than our least-compensated County Commissioners will make beginning in November.

Voters might decide to cut BCC salaries to a flat 37K, which means new teachers and Commissioners will be taking home very similar paychecks. So, how else do the two jobs compare?

Our government at work ...

Christy Fitzgerald opens the meeting asking God for the wisdom to make proper decisions. I wish the BCC would stop relying on God and start making decisions based on common sense instead.

Chairman George Bush takes care of the Consent Agenda, except for the items pulled for discussion from the June 16 Finance Committee's report. George points out that one of the firms that's a finalist for a government contract, adding that previous experience with the company led to problems. Harold Rutledge, who chairs the Finance Committee, amends the report to eliminate that company from consideration as financial counsel.