Chairman offers views on numerous issues facing Madison County this year

Dove had plenty to do to straighten up his new work space at the county government complex. Of course, office décor is far down the list of concerns for the man who will watch over the Madison County government for the next four years.

Dove wakes up during the middle of the night, thinking about all the tasks ahead.

“It’s not that I wake up worrying,” said Dove. “I wake up and something pops in my head and I write it down. A lot of them are just questions that I want to pose to the staff and different departments. Is there a way we can do this at a cheaper cost?”

Dove’s path to the chairman’s office began last summer, around August, after he prayed about a potential campaign.

“I can remember sitting down in the sunroom at the house and I’d already spoken to someone about running,” said Dove. “And I felt pressure on me. There was some type of pressure on me. Now, what it was, I think I know. But I prayed about it. And there was a burden on me to run.”

Now, Dove will carry the burden of leading. And there are plenty of issues that need attention. The new chairman recently sat down for an hour-long interview at The Journal office to discuss county business.

SPLOST AND THEJAIL EXPANSION

For instance, what does the new chairman think of planned special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) projects, such as the expansion of the county jail? County voters approved renewal of a one-cent sales tax last year for county improvements.

Dove said he favors waiting before taking any major actions on SPLOST projects.

“My personal opinion is we need to be very careful,” said Dove. “I think we’re going to have to really look at the cost effectiveness of doing anything right now. We don’t want to get ourselves in a situation where it’s going to be a strain on our budget. … We’ve got six years. It’s not like there’s a time limit on when you can do those projects. Because the way the law is, you can go past your time, you just have to use that money for that (project).”

Dove said he favors having a committee look at the SPLOST projects to determine what will be financially feasible. He noted that the county projected $12.6 million in sales tax revenue over the next six years. However, with the economic downturn, those figures may decline.

“Those things (SPLOST projects) were on estimated tax revenues,” said Dove. “We’re going to have to look at the numbers, what they actually are.”

LAND USE

Of course, growth was the major political issue in Madison County for much of this decade. Some have favored more homes and development. Others have pushed for government protection of farmland. The land use map debates of recent years highlighted this conflict, with actual lines drawn on a map to indicate where growth is most appropriate. Dove said he still has to familiarize himself with that map. But he said the growth issues have taken a backseat to current economic problems.

“To be honest with you, with the specifics on the land use map, that’s something I’m going to have to become familiar with,” said Dove. “I’ve always said, even during the campaign, that I thought the way we need to look at this is growing around our small towns and back out towards our Hull area. Back then (when the land use map was updated), that was one of the big issues. I don’t see that as a big issue right now.”

THE ECONOMY

Dove said the primary concern these days is the economy.

He noted that the state government is shifting a lot of burden onto counties dur ing the financial crunch.

“We’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to provide,” said Dove. “By law, the county has to provide certain services. And back then (when the economy was better), the state was helping us with money coming in. I think we’re fixing to see a change. What they’re doing is sliding it back down to a local level. And that goes back to the image that all politics is local. We’re going to learn to accept that and deal with it.”

For instance, Dove noted that the senior center was recently informed that the state will continue to cover costs for those in the Meals on Wheels program, but they will not allow people on the waiting list to come into it.

“What we’re going to have to do is look at the services we have to have and look at some of the services we might not have to have and cut back on those,” said Dove. “I don’t think you can cut back on the senior citizens’ food. Health is going to be one of those areas that will be increased right now. You’ve got people losing their jobs. They’re losing their health care. They have nowhere else to go. And as a society it’s going to be something that we need to take care of people healthwise, because that affects us all.”

Dove said that since the state will now expect local governments to handle their own engineering work, the county, the cities and the industrial authority should consider joining together to fund an engineering position.

“I’ve already talked to the IDA and we’ll probably talk with the cities,” said Dove. “If you go back and look at the city budgets, they’ve really spent a lot on engineers too. It’s getting to where you can hire a staff for what we’re paying to engineering firms. A lot of instances we need to react quickly, when bridges go out, and we have to start looking at environmental concerns when that happens.”

If a local government engineer is in place in the county, that person could help the county move forward quickly if federal money does trickle to the county during the next administration. The new president is proposing a stimulus package that would include considerable money for infrastructure. Dove said he favors a stimulus package that aids local governments over bailouts for big business.

“I’d rather see money, if you’re going to stimulate stuff, go into infrastructure, into something that’s going to be there, rather than a lot of this propping up different industries,” said Dove. “If you bring it in locally, you’re going to have an impact, rather than sending it all to New York and the Stock Market. Those things wouldn’t have the impact of sending it directly to this county.”

BUDGET CUTS

Dove said that budget cuts are a fact of life these days and that he has ideas about what cuts can be made in Madison County, but he declined to get into specifics yet.

“Before I say anything, I’d like to look at all the numbers and have all the information available to me,” said Dove. “We’re going to have to start tracking budgets monthly. I want to really get into those areas, each department, start looking at them closely, so that when we start getting into these budget hearings next year, we can give the board of commissioners a little idea of what’s going on. I think the administration needs to get proactive in the budget process.”

Dove sat in on the numerous BOC budget meetings this past year as commissioners tried to whittle away expenses for 2009.

“They were really just winging it a little bit, at least it seemed to me,” said Dove. “They all had good ideas at different times on the way to do it. My explanation is we’ve got to look at the budget as a whole before we go line by line.”

In light of recent government theft cases, Dove also said he will work hard to make sure there are proper safeguards in place in each department in handling cash.

“We’ll make sure there are two signatures on everything, make sure everything is double-checked and go into each department and see how they handle money, make sure there are safeguards and everything is in line,” said Dove.

WORKING WITH THE INDUSTRIAL AUTHORITY

Another one of the chairman’s duties is to serve on the county industrial development authority. Dove said he favors establishing water infrastructure along main roads in the county.

“Do I want to put the county at risk debt wise? No,” said Dove. “But some aspects of the infrastructure have to be addressed. With the population increase, we’re going to have to look at going ahead and putting water lines down our main roads.”

Dove doesn’t foresee any major changes with the BOC’s relationship with the IDA.

“My feeling is as long as they (the IDA) can continue to operate like they’ve been, and not taxing any more than they’ve been, and still be able to pay the debt, then I’m all for that,” said Dove.

The new chairman said he feels Madison and surrounding counties should work together on a reservoir.

“I do see us eventually linking up to get water,” said Dove. “I would like us to start looking at a reservoir in the future. In the immediate future I like the idea of Seagraves Lake, using that as a water source, and using some of our watersheds as possible sources. My thing is being prepared. And we have to look at all aspects of water. We can’t do without water.”

CONTACT WITH LEGISLATORS

Of course, the upcoming state legislative session will have the attention of county and municipal officials across the state. Dove said he has been in contact with local legislators and recognizes that they will have a lot on their hands this year, as the state tries to deal with a budget shortfall, projected by some in the $2 billion range. The new chairman said this isn’t the time for each county to push hard for pork on their plate. But he said he hopes legislators will help Madison County in pushing for non-partisan elections in the county.

TAX PROBLEMS

Madison County has had a perennially late digest and assessment practices deemed inadequate by the Department of Revenue.

Dove said these issues reach back many years and that many people are to blame.

“I think it’s been going on for about eight years,” said Dove. “So I think there’s enough blame to go around to everybody and I don’t leave anybody out of that. I don’t think it’s one particular person or one particular area’s fault. It’s a combination of things. And it just got out of kilter back then and it’s never got back.”

Dove noted that there has been talk of a total revaluation of property in Madison County.

“If you took a snapshot right now, we might actually get a better idea of what it’s actually worth,” said Dove. “Is it down because the economy’s down, or is it just coming back to where it’s supposed to be? I’m not an expert on that, but if you think about it, the budget in 1998 was $6 million and it’s at $15 million 10 years later. The values would go up and you could leave the mills the same, but it was still a tax increase. I’ve always thought that property was getting overvalued.”

ROAD ISSUES

One primary duty of the county commission chairman is overseeing county roads. The new chairman will face a real challenge on road projects, since there won’t be much money for paving. State funds for roads are expected to decline dramatically. Likewise, there will be less money for roads locally in the next few years, since the BOC allocated $3.95 million in sales tax funds for roads over the next six years, compared to over $8.4 million for roads over the past five years.

“The situation now is the state doesn’t have any money, so that’s going to change how we prioritize roads and how much we can get out of them,” said Dove.

The new chairman noted that the county must also focus on maintaining roads that have already been paved.

“An asphalt road or a paved road has to be maintained just as much as a dirt road. If you don’t fill the cracks and keep the sides, they’ll disintegrate,” said Dove.

NOT CARRYING RESENTMENTS

Dove defeated Nash in the Republican primary back in July. And he’s spent the past five months studying for his new role.

“The best thing was going to the meetings and sitting back and observing what was going on,” said Dove, who says he is looking into the possibility of putting video of county commissioners’ meetings online.

The new chairman said he will work hard to keep personal feelings out of his decision making.

“We as a county government, and I hope the citizens will take this too, but we need to start looking at what’s best for the county as a whole and not our personal wants, personal agendas or personal resentments of somebody,” said Dove. “Now, my family has been involved in politics and it would be very easy for me to look back and hold some personal resentments against some people for that reason. But I’m not going to do that. That’s not in my faith. That’s not in my family, in my raising. And I have to come in here and start anew and try to carry this county in a new direction and build a relationship with the government and citizens again, which I think has been very tainted.”

EXCITED ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

Dove said he is excited about the challenge of leading Madison County. The new chairman worked for many years with his father and their business, Dove’s Grading and Landscaping Inc. And he looks forward to his life taking a new direction.

“We came into it at a good time,” said Dove of the family business. “But as everything else, my dad got older. That was part of what I enjoyed the most was working with him. I found that I was just needing something else. God had been good to me, but I just thought there was something else that I needed to be doing. And this is where it ended up.”