IN YOUR CORNER

We view the resignation of the County Administrator as a political event and do not wish to comment other than to say that we thought Russ Blackburn handled a difficult situation with unusual class and professionalism. Like baseball managers, every County Administrator knows that his days of service are numbered no matter what the results of their efforts. We wish Mr. Blackburn well.

With the change in County Administrator also comes the opportunity to change the County’s attitude toward spending. We hope that the County will hire a forceful new Administrator that will instill efficiency and fiscal discipline in his staff, and maintain an open dialogue with organizations such as our own. We think that every County expenditure needs inspection, and believe that there is a need to make some basic changes and establish firm, clear financial policies and procedures. Categories we suggest need attention are the overall size of government, excessive items contained within the County Capital Budgets, unfocused spending on basic infrastructure and escalating personnel costs.

We understand the need for maintaining services, but the size of County government has far outstripped the increase in population for many years. Even more disturbing is the increase in use of consultants and temporary/part time employees. Budgets for these individuals amount to millions of dollars each year and are subject to few controls.

We believe there is a need for updated facilities and some increases in workspace are required. We do not agree that every County structure should be built to such standards that their overall costs are two to three times that of comparable commercial construction. This has been the case with the last few fire stations and schools, and is very evident in some pending budgeted projects.

We did not object to the County’s imposition of additional gas taxes in the last few years. We now strenuously object to these gas taxes being wasted on feel good projects, fancy signage, so-called “gateways” and expensive landscaping. We all enjoy our County’s beauty, we just don’t want to have excessive time to look at it while stuck in traffic. Fix the roadway capacity issues before adding the amenities.

Personnel costs have increased at a rate far greater than justified by inflation and new hires. The majority of unwarranted increases have occurred due to policies that allowed union contracts to be negotiated by those directly involved in the day-to-day running of these departments, and virtually automatic salary increases that are not tied to performance. We don’t fault the workers themselves for negotiating an employment deal favorable to their members. However, as we predicted, the budget now reflects the impact of their favorable contracting, and as a result, we are probably looking for all County employees to unionize and follow suit. These actions will further exacerbate increases if future contracts are not professionally negotiated. Also, the bow wave of inflated retirement entitlements that will accumulate as a result of these increases will prove to be quite oppressive for future taxpayers.

In summary, we believe there is great opportunity for a new County Administrator to make decisions that will positively affect the future of Martin County. We look forward to a timely selection and working with him/her to achieve these goals.