Budget cutting recommendations for Walton County

Until upper management starts to manage you are going to consistently have a problem. Making a guy supervisor over two employees and then using that to give him a $2K a year raise is a bit absurd. Those are dollars that can be used to help all the line workers, instead of just picking ones related to someone in power.

Sounds like a great place to start cutting. Sort of like part-time employees having two assistants. And paying someone 30 miles travel pay when they are supposed to live a couple of miles from their office. Etc. etc. etc.

I think paying anyone to travel to their daily job is a total crock.
I also think hiring people who don't live in the area and paying them travel expenses to do that job is also stupid as hell.

I think paying anyone to travel to their daily job is a total crock.
I also think hiring people who don't live in the area and paying them travel expenses to do that job is also stupid as hell.

Welcome to Walton County.

Not Everybody

And that is the real shame. Even if a good person runs by the time they have sold their soul to raise that kind of money they are no longer the person they were. The special interests win either way.

When I ran for office, I never offered any special intrest group anything but fair and impartial leadership with some commomn sense mixed in. Although I came in second I left the election process with a clear conscience. It was the people who approched me during the election that had no ethics, lots of corruption and undue influence appeared to run rampant. Had I known and spent time with Bob Hudson prior to our both running for the district, I would have bowed out as I believe in my heart that ethier one of us would have exposed any unlawful practices.
What we need is honesty, guts and leadership in our county and my opinion our current commission doesn't offer any of that, just the same ole good ole network. You just won't know the truth until you run for office and look like you might win, then you'll find out how politricks work in this county.

It is really a shame that you and Bob didn't realize that at the time you both ran for Commissioner. Either one of you would have made a wonderful representative for the citizens of South Walton. Hopefully, such a situation will not occur in our next Commissioner election.

Actually, I hope it does - far worse things than 2 candidates running against each other who respect each other and think their opponent will do a good job if elected.

Legal services are kind of an interesting category. There's a lot of that that is fairly standard, (think most HR issues) and a properly supervised paralegal can do the vast majority of work on those projects, but then you get the times when you need to bring in a specialist in order to have a better chance against the specialists that the deep pockets other side has already got on the case.

Not just any county lawyer is going to have the skill set to adequately advise the county on something like the seawall issue or other environmental matters where the laws and emergency orders seem to contradict.

Considering the typical county case load, one would hope that a lawyer who actually knows some environmental law would be hired. Obviously one person cannot be an expert in everything, but there are some rather broad categories of knowledge that cover most county legal issues.

We need more Transparency

Here is the deal

It is really a shame that you and Bob didn't realize that at the time you both ran for Commissioner. Either one of you would have made a wonderful representative for the citizens of South Walton. Hopefully, such a situation will not occur in our next Commissioner election.

Andy,
I will write the first check if you can get Hudson to run. If there is corruption there, bob will stamp it out. Believe me it's there, I've seen it.

Andy

Get Alan to run and I will endorse him, write a check and travel north and south working for him.

Alan and I have talked about this on many occasions. I know and respect why he told me he wouldn't run and he knows why I will not run.

Find the right candidate and my offer holds there as well.

I'm not running

Well, then my suggestion is to get together and find a candidate. I will gladly join you but my input is limited by the fact I am not in the mainstream of activity here. Being retired has its drawbacks. If what Alan says is true, and I certainly will be the last to doubt his word, we need some changes all around. No one elected is going to vote the way any individual wants 100% of the time. We need someone who puts the citizen's first, the county's interests second and their own a distant ways down the road. One more thing. I really do think you two should settle on one of you running.

Well, then my suggestion is to get together and find a candidate. I will gladly join you but my input is limited by the fact I am not in the mainstream of activity here. Being retired has its drawbacks. If what Alan says is true, and I certainly will be the last to doubt his word, we need some changes all around. No one elected is going to vote the way any individual wants 100% of the time. We need someone who puts the citizen's first, the county's interests second and their own a distant ways down the road. One more thing. I really do think you two should settle on one of you running.

You do not have to be in the mainstream. Taking those lists last time and contacting people for SaraK was invaluable to the campaign. I know she has thanked you, but in case I did not, Thanks for all the help. Finding grass roots volunteers willing to cold call is not an easy task.

wrobert, thank you for the kind words. I do not always agree with Sara but she always gives you a reason for her decision. You may not like it but it is always there. You can ask no more of an elected official.