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The last meeting of the Habersham County Board of Commissioners had a black cloud over it. Citizens left and right expressed their dissatisfaction with how the county is currently being run, which is, of course, the purpose of those meetings.
The reason to even have government meetings is so the public can see how their money is being spent and their county or city is being run. If they do not like what they see, they have every right to protest publicly and ask questions of their elected officials.
And so, several residents detailed their dismay with our current board of commissioners, with some saying recalling them was a possibility.
There are a few things to consider as the new year approaches.
First, this group did not put us in the messes we find ourselves in, and boy have we got some. Our jail is falling apart, our hospital is broke, our roads are breaking down with no way to pay for them, and our landfill is, well, landfilled.
Did we leave anything out?
None of this happened overnight, and these problems are the result of a lack of solutions presented over multiple incarnations of our county government.
Second, we just finished an election where two commissioners were on the general election ballot unopposed. Commissioner Jimmy Tench had two opponents in the primary but still got enough votes to avoid a runoff. This election data in a vacuum would indicate that Habersham County is pleased with the job its commissioners are doing.
Others would argue the filing period and primary – the true meat of the election in today’s political climate here – were settled long before the decision was made to raise taxes. But frankly, we should have seen it coming.
So this group of five commissioners will be together until at least Jan. 1, 2025, and will craft at least two more fiscal budgets together, barring a resignation or recall. There’s that word again, but that process is not so simple. Just ask the folks in Demorest.
Recall of public officials is appropriately difficult so as not to whimsically overturn the will of the people in regularly scheduled elections. They are possible and they are within the citizens’ rights, but they are not going to be easy.
Further, if a recall of a particular official were successful, you would then need someone to serve in the position. That person would need some sort of ideas for the future that can turn our county back around. While ideas have been tough to come by, finding people to serve has been equally or more challenging.
Instead of signing petitions, perhaps civic-minded residents could come forward with solutions as to how we can solve our communities problems. We need plans and answers, not petitions and terse confrontations. Those both go for our elected officials and the citizens they serve.
Onward and upward.