Commissioner John Pethel handed his fellow BOC members a list of suggested cuts during a budget meeting last week. The recommendations included the termination of two animal control jobs, a part-time building inspector and a scale house operator. He estimated savings from these layoffs at approximately $101,000.
“We are facing very poor economic times,” said Pethel. “Our government must take action to reduce costs. Every area of expense must be revisited. Our citizens expect us to be guardians of their tax dollars.”
Pethel also suggested that the BOC “insist the tax commissioner collect delinquent taxes, almost $750,000 over the past three years.” He suggested the BOC cut out $100,000 in EMS overtime costs, reduce the chief appraiser’s contract from $65,000 to $55,000 and eliminate Christmas gifts to employees. He estimated the total savings per year in job terminations and other reductions at $212,463.
County commissioners took no action on Pethel’s proposals last week, agreeing to meet this week with department heads who may lose employees.
“Ultimately, the decision is ours,” said Commissioner Stanley Thomas. “But we need to have some sort of communication with them (department heads), rather than blindside them. We need to let them know what might happen.”
Board members noted that building inspections are down due to the slump in the housing market. They seemed open to the possibility of cutting a building inspections position.
“There’s not a lot of building going on in Madison County,” said Thomas. “A lot of projects are being put on hold.”
However, there was some disagreement on cutting animal control jobs.
“I feel this is a service 95 percent of the county does not need,” said Pethel, regarding animal control. “… I think it’s a lot more trouble than the service we’re getting out of it.”
But Commissioner Mike Youngblood said he doesn’t favor doing away with animal control positions.
“We’ve come too far to do away with animal control,” said Youngblood. “The people in Hull have benefited from that.”
Commissioner Bruce Scogin noted that the code enforcement office, which also handles animal control, deals with much more than dog complaints.
“They’ve got a lot they deal with other than dogs,” he said.
Board members agreed that eliminating Christmas gifts for employees is an appropriate action, given the economy right now.
They said the county could advertise for a chief appraiser. The one-year contract for James Flynt, who currently holds that post, will expire at the end of December. Board members talked about having Flynt apply for the position at a reduced salary.
Thomas suggested that a $10,000 savings in the salary may not be worth the cost if tax appraisals suffer as a result. He noted the tax digest delays in recent years that occurred when the chief appraiser’s position remained vacant.
The board also agreed last week that they need to meet with the county EMS director Dwayne Patton to discuss ways to reduce EMS overtime costs.
Talk of layoffs comes on the heels of weekly budget meetings, with the BOC hearing from department heads and discussing ways to cut costs.
The group sat at the BOC table last week, going over line items in the roughly $14 million 2009 county budget and slashing roughly $160,000.
They said they expect to have a final tax digest by Oct. 20. Once the digest is set, the county will establish a mill rate. The group is also waiting on word from the governor’s office on whether he’ll release $428 million that is supposed to go to local governments as part of the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant. Madison County stands to lose about $600,000 if those funds are withheld.
Pethel said he prefers to cut jobs rather than raise taxes on local property owners.
“I went over this budget for three weeks,” said Pethel. “This (the sheet of budget suggestions) is a way we can make cuts without taking services away that are really needed.”
Budget cuts sometimes are unavoidable however, Mr. Pethel has actually listed one item that makes perfect sense.
Insist the tax commissioner do her job! Insist she collect $750,000.00 in delingquent taxes! This is a NO BRAINER!! I remember reading that Louise Watson said she hasn't had time to organize things due to being short staffed. How many employees does she need? The last employee she hired was through the back door during a hiring freeze. Some tax bills are three years late. It's hard to believe that nobody could have been assigned this task in the last 3 years. These nontaxpayers need to be held accountable. Throw them off the gravy train.
It's time to admit that animal control is not as productive as once hoped. Requests for more employees, computers, equipment, etc. Paying for Mr. Huffs certification to carry a badge/gun, an increase in his wages. I beleive last reported at $16+ per hour. Sheriff's deputies still come out to put down dangerous animals. It never seems to be enough for Mr. Huff. Sell the truck, cages, equipment, etc. Consider reducing his wages w/ a decrease in responsibility. Mr. Youngblood should remember that his district is not the only district paying into this office. If they're the only ones who are benefitting from it maybe they should be the ones to pay for it.
Mr. Scogins says code enforcement has much to deal w/more than dog calls. Mr. Huff should be dealing w/ code enforcement. Are you driving in the same county as I am? You don't need to look far for violations. CLEAN UP THE JUNK/TRASH or ticket them. Stop looking the other way!
Insist EMS work 12 hour shifts for straight pay as deputies have to. The amount of overtime ($400,000+) is inexusable!
The county doesn't have money so why is Mr. Youngblood pushing for building another new EMS station? Why is this even an option? They've been working w/the firestation all this time. Awhile longer will not prevent them from doing their job until money matters get better.
Instead of nickle & diming employees and departments, the members of the BOC need to stop spending carelessly or for personal preferrence. Make things as painless as possible by hitting delingquent taxes & outrageous overtime.
I, as countless others, pay taxes on time and frankly don't care who the friends of the BOC are.
The sheriffs office works 24/7 and they do it working 12. If EMS works 24 hour shifts, why would they have to hire 30 more people to cover the same number of hours in a day? Two 12s = one 24. One week they work 4 12s, the next week it's 3 12s = 84 hrs. If the hours conflict w/a second job or aren't convenient I'm sorry for that. The priority should be Madison County! In this economy there are many employers like Mclanes, open 24/7, that are changing to 4 10 hour days w/ the same # of employees. All your doing is spreading it out so your not paying time and a half for a huge amount of hours over 40/week. We're talking about decreasing the budget. Increase wages for the same responsibilities and working shorter shifts (won't be paid to sleep at work)but more days per wk.? Deputies are paid straight pay for a 42hour week. Then they should be paid time and a half for anything over a 40/wk too. After all, what's good for one should apply to all.
At any rate, you miss the point. Sure, if the county was awash in money, we could afford to have unnecessary luxuries like Animal Control. However, Madison County is a poor, rural farm community. That fact, coupled with the huge economic downturn and crash in property values, means that whether you think we should have Animal Control or not is a moot point...WE CANNOT AFFORD IT. We need to eliminate Animal Control at least until the economy and property values improve. Then, we can revisit Animal Control preferably through a PUBLIC REFERENDUM so the voices of the voters can be heard. If a majority of voters wants Animal Control, when we can afford it, so be it. If a majority of voters opposes Animal Control, then we will not reinstate it. That is a fair solution for all...resolve the issue democratically where all the voters have a voice, not just a vocal few who want our poor county to provide all kinds of extravagant services.
Louise Watson is a very nice person, but she doesn't understand how to manage tax collections efficiently.
Economy is slow and going to get a lot slower. Property values are crashing. It's time to lay off some employees and cut county services. Also need to lay off school employees to meet the bare minimum legal requirements.
Rabies was rampant because there were no rabies shots for these abandoned animals.
It took us years to get where we are now and for once I don’t mind driving down our roads because of packs of dogs running wild, puppies all over the place that no one wanted, dead cats and dogs strewn all over and seeing and hearing the torment of abused animals and no one to help them.
Now with all our homeless what is going to become of their pets? Most of them will be dropped off and allowed to go feral.
For the safety of our citizens animal control is needed.
I just talked to a relative, in her sixties and with diabetes and other maladies. She told me she was walking into her home and a neighbor’s huge dog attacked her and bit her several times on her hip.
We have more folks in Madison County now and most of these folks have one or more critters. With out regulations and animal control just imagine how it would be.
That would be a crime against our citizens and the critters that live in this county.
Animal Control...it doesn't work...and even if it did, we can't afford it.
The simple fact of the matter is this: EMS is paid and annual salary that is in stiff competition with the rest of the country. The hours worked by EMS employees are figured on a 24 on and 48 off rotation and this is the same as paid fire departments such as Hall County Fire/EMS, DeKalb County, and Gwinnett County. The yearly salary is figured and then broken down into line items such as "REGULAR HOURS" and "OVERTIME". This is the standard shift rotation and hours worked, this is not overtime in the traditional sense of the word; this is the schedule these people work every week. Before you trust me at my word, do a salary comparison between Madison County and the rest of the region and you will see that the yearly salaries paid to our EMS personnel are right in line, and maybe a little lower, than the rest of the region.
You talk as though this is an overtime that was an unseen issue and that there is some way to slow this down or stop it but do you have any idea what is going to happen if you push this issue? You could hypothetically cut the hours down and the salaries in half but then you will have no Paramedics to fill the slots available. Why would anyone work in Madison County EMS for 20K annually when they can go to Franklin or Jackson for 42K a year?
Again, just because it says overtime on the line item does not mean that it is above and beyond the normal hours, this is the schedule these people maintain and you should focus your energies on something positive instead of the negative. If you cut these people's salaries, the entire county will suffer from underpaid, undertrained, understaffed service and then what will you do when your child or loved one needs quality care? You will wait on another service to come to Madison with the same Paramedics that left here and are getting paid what they deserve from people who actually appreciate the sacrifice they make.
Well, we are in the off season right now and we are still paying him a very healthy salary, to do what?
How much are the library services costing us?
Why do I need to pay for internet services for people that do not have a computer?
A computer is a luxury in my opinion so is the internet--not a necessity.
It is a election year, Mrs. Watson is not going to have a tax sale, period. People know this, why not surprise them this year.
Why werent the commissioners this diligent in trying to keep up with the BOC office management? If Pethel would have kept up with the office staff in the commissioners office he could actually have 212K plus 80K(stolen money)=292-300K.
Why not cut the county clerks salary? Was/Is he the person in charge of the accounting department? Well, we now have a department head for the billing department, why not cut his salary?
Ya know, it is a shame that the little people in the county will get their jobs taken away and the directors,department heads, chairmans,head of organizations,etc.the people making the majority of the money will keep their jobs along with the perks.
It's unfortunate that you have chosen to misinterpret my comment regarding issues in this article as "venting my frustrations on the world". It is equally unfortunate that you have chosen to twist my comment to have it appear to be an attack on EMS. I addressed each issue of the original article not just EMS.
In an effort to reduce a budget (not personnel) I suggested, in detail, an altertative that works for other 24/7 departments. If in fact you feel that I have "too little information", why don't you spell it out for us taxpayers so that it makes sense. Help me to better understand how this is "not overtime in the traditional sense" when this line item is paid at a rate of TIME AND A HALF OVER 40/WK? I am not trying to "push this issue", I'm trying to wrap my brain around $400,000+ overtime. Sorry but I need a better explanation then what you have already stated & what previous Journal articles have quoted EMS Director, Dwayne Patton as saying. Which happen to be very similar.
As a MC taxpayer I consider it worth my "energy" and have a responsibility to know what the BOC are doing for my community. It should not be assummed that just because someone inquires, makes a suggestion or disagrees w/ the norm that they're pushing anything.
SERIOUSLY, EDUCATE ME. HELP ME GET IT!!
When you talk about cuts let's start at the chairman's office first because many may not know but the chief financial officer Mr. Fortson is the highest paid person in the county which is also the person that lost all the money and never got reprimanded!!!!!!!!!
Regarding rabies vaccinations, we already have State Laws that deal with rabies vaccinations, so no local ordinance was ever needed! Besides, animal control can't "enforce" rabies vaccinations, (read the ordinance, julie). Animal control officers can ONLY come on one's property in pursuit of a dangerous dog ("dangerous" is defined in the ordinance as a dog that has ALREADY bit someone) so there is no enforcement of rabies vaccinations, nor should there be, as Madison County citizens shouldn't be paying to duplicate an ordinance that has existed for many, many years in State Law. If animal control officers trespass on your property and they are not in pursuit of a "dangerous" dog, the property owner is within their rights to (and I think they should) order the animal control officers off the property. To come back, they will need a SEARCH WARRANT and some actual POLICE OFFICERS / SHERIFF DEPUTIES who actually have the authority to serve a warrant, issued by a judge, if a judge deems a search warrant justified after hearing evidence. This is still America, and the Constitution and due process still apply, even to Mr. Huff and Mr. McLendon and Ms. Andrews. How much do you think all that costs? Getting the warrant, wasting a judge's valuable time, wasting deputies' valuable time, paying people every step of the way... Answer: it ain't cheap. Then you go to court. If the defendant cannot afford an attorney (this is Madison County, people) one will be provided for him. Who pays? Yep, YOU DO...AGAIN. Months later, after several hearings and delays, a trial, you probably don't get a conviction, but either way the taxpayer is on the hook for as much as $20,000 - $50,000...maybe MORE. That's just ONE CASE taken all the way through the system. People don't see these costs because they don't show up in Animal Control budget...but the expense is there and IT IS EXPENSIVE...expensive enough to break this county.
Bottom line, I agree that people should take "proper care of pets", the vast majority of us agree. But if they do not, we should not be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to kid ourselves that we are helping these individuals to take "proper care of pets." In the scenario above, even if you spend all that money and win, what do you think happens? The offender pays a fine, MAYBE gets probation, MAYBE has their pet taken away, then they GO HOME to take "care" of their NEW PET! "Wheel turning, round and round..."
What an enormous waste of dollars and energy to not even achieve the desired result. We simply cannot afford this train wreck...someone said it right...People First! I respectfully ask our commissioners to take a look at the ENTIRE COST of animal control, not just the budget line, and rid Madison County of this enormous drain on our resources at least until the national economic crisis / housing crisis is over. The housing / gas crisis has effectively halted development in Madison County anyway, and that is just another reason to eliminate animal control.
I think we should call it Animal "Out Of" Control...because the spending is OUT OF CONTROL.
Gloria Andrews: the only person we all know beats her dog and violates the animal control ordinance because Ms. Andrews herself said so in SWORN TESTIMONY.
This is a joke only it's not funny...commissioners, please stop literally throwing our dollars to the dogs!
How did Dr. Andrews cause this budget shortage? If she had billed the county for everything thing she did the shortage would be considerable higher. How much charitable work have you done for the county ?
Budget cuts are needed because of poor management practices and an ever expanding county payroll,including animal control and other offices . Would the BOC consider a cut in their salaries to help with the shortage ?
First we have 80 grand stolen , then the Board of Assesors lets an $87,000 fine and penality slide . This was done illegally ,contrary to Georgia law . Just these two examples exceed the animal control budget . Why aren't you anonymous bloggers raising sand over this ? Every time some one gets a break on their taxes the rest of us have to pay more .Better yet why isn't Mr Pethel and the boys looking into this ? Most of the BOC has known about this since early spring .
I refuse to hide behind the COWARDS "anonymous " or "Hull resident ". Have the courage to put your name on a blog,or better yet go to a BOC meeting and speak up .
Now, read the statements given by Gloria Andrews in her TESTIMONY and answer the question:
Why hasn't Gloria Andrews been charged with a violation of the ordinance when they have an easy to prosecute case based upon Ms. Andrews' CONFESSION to at least one violation of the Animal Control Ordinance given in her public testimony?
Others are being charged on FAR LESS EVIDENCE of only sworn statements provided by vindictive neighbors. Animal Control is corrupt, inefficient, creating far more problems than it solves, creating more spending than is actually reflected in its budget, and it isn't even serving its intended purpose. It's been an educational experiment for the entire county to say the least. The experiment has failed. Save a lot of money, and save a lot of headache: euthanize Animal Control now.
What about the other departments? People go get a copy of the budget from last year and analyze the salaries within the county budget.
If Zach would do a article on all of the salaries for each department for the county and what we spend on non-essential items, you would be stunned.
Right now, the EMS and the animal control are hot topics, but get a copy of the budget, and you will see what is hot.
He would jail the owners and the animals and cost the county money for food and court cost, rather than educate the people on how to avoid these situations and take care of the situation yourself.
If you want to talk about station issues? Let's talk about what will happen if a private service is brought in. Response time will be tremendous, mostly because a private service will more than likely staff one 24 hour truck and one 12 hour day truck in Danielsville. The private service employees also aren't going to know the roads in Madison County like we do. You're not going to get a private service to entertain a contract without at least a 500k subsidy. You can say bye-bye to the state of the art equipment Madison County EMS is using... it's back to the old days with a private service. New equipment cuts into their profit margin. Rates of service will increase, they don't care about you, they're in it for the greenbacks. Speaking of not caring about you, these private service employees will not be from Madison County... I know I will not be one of them.
I have lived in this county since the day I was brought home from St. Mary's in 1982. I love this county, I love working in this county and by God I pay taxes just like you in this county. I have worked for Madison County EMS for 5 years, the day I received my EMT numbers from the state of Georgia, Dwayne gave me the opportunity to work for this great county, I've spent 2 additional years furthering my education to become a Paramedic on top of working a full-time job. The job that keeps me away from my family a third of the year so that I can help my fellow citizens when they call 911. I work holidays I'm sure you don't have to. I'm sure at home every Christmas and Thanksgiving with your family... I'm not. Someone might call 911 and you know something... I'm there.
-Kevin Cheek, NREMT-P
Madison County EMS
The BOA has an obligation to ALL taxpayers not just the ones that befriend a BOC, hire a lawyer or know a friend of a friend. If you
read the Journal article on Sept. 21, "Compromise reached in conservation case". Why should only 75 acres be taxed out of 781 acres? Conservation status really benefits the farmer. Are they farming the remaining 700 acres? This is a clay shooting club & they charge customers for a service. The terms of conservation status prohibit commercial activity on the land. What part of "prohibit commercial activity" were the BOA confused about? So they sighted the hunting club as presidence. Maybe that land status should be reviewed too. If you're a business then pay taxes as one. It's about time that they stop following part of the laws based on what's convenient!
If anything, valuations are way too high. That's why so many people are appealing. House nearby they had valued at $135,000. It just sold for $85,000. So county assessors had it overvalued by about 60%. A lot of properties assessments are going to have to be reduced and reduced drastically to keep pace with the plummeting home values. Time to cut county services, lay-off employees, and go absolute "bare-bones" until the housing crisis is over. I would also ask the commissioners to reduce their own pay by 50% or forego compensation altogether until the crisis is over since they really don't perform any necessary duties. Unless fussing, arguing, exhibiting condescending arrogance toward taxpayers, bumbling, begin uninformed, wasting time and money, embarrassing themselves and this county are considered "duties." If those things are considered duties the commissioners should be racking up overtime.
"take money away from our kids and seniors". That
is what happens when you cut the Rec and Senior Centers.
This Nation builds more Jails and Prisons then we do
Schools and Libraries. And SOME of you think it is a better
idea to make these cuts. I am thankful that you are not
running this campaign. We should ALWAYS put our KIDS
and SENIORS before ourselves.
I shouldn't have to pay for someone else's decision to have a half-dozen children that they can't afford to properly take care of.
You have 'em, YOU pay for 'em. Don't punish me for YOUR choice.
If some of the irresponsible parents would do a better job of RAISING their own children instead of pushing the job off onto television screens, teachers, and everyone else, maybe we wouldn't need to build so many jails and prisons.
Don't ask me or expect me to quietly pay for someone else's problems.
It amazes me that the people of Madison County re-elected this man when they had a chance to send a message to the old guard by ousting him. It is apparent that the majority of Madison County voters approve of this type of negative behavior. It is no wonder that the government is rife with corruption.
You geniuses made your bed, now sleep in it.
The Rec Department only receives a small amount of dollars.
We give kids a place to go rather than make poor choices.
Those choices that later lead to prison. I am NOT saying
better decsions could not be made in our local government.
What I am saying is cost/bennefit analyst show youth programs
lead to better communities. Myself and others WITHOUT
Children provide our own time and money to Rec program with
donations from parents, as well,as private donations.
We can make other cuts other than children and seniors.
Have some repect.
You must be one of those arrogant "jocks" who thinks he can bully his way around. Typical. You get your degree in "physical education"?
We didn't have a rec department when I was young. I didn't use drugs, I didn't get involved with gangs. Want to know why? MY parents did their JOB and taught me right from wrong. I didn't need my "coach" to tell me things that my mom and dad should have.
And if YOU want to VOLUNTARILY give to your community or to the rec department, that is and SHOULD be a CHOICE that YOU get to make. It should NOT be FORCED on anyone.
Get off your high horse and stop being so narrow minded that YOU think YOU have all the answers for people who do NOT agree with you.
You do not have the RIGHT to take other peoples time nor money to do what YOU want to do, regardless of how THEY feel about it.
How petty, self-centered and narrow minded that YOU think you are so much smarter than everyone else that YOU can make decisions for US.
givers to community. Also, the #22 seems negative to me.
Some of us are brave enough to give our names.
But, I guess I have to admire someone who is so brave that they put their real name into such a hotly debated forum.
I'm just not that brave I suppose. But being a mouse, I'm afraid some big guy might beat me up if I have a difference of opinion.
But while you're being so brave, why not put your phone number and home address online too?
I would love to watch another round of comedy!
Thanks to the Pethel district I have to put up with all of this for the next 4 years.
Excuses of the digest was late, not enough time or staff doesn't cut it. Three years behind is the issue. Lets say 95% is accurate, 750,000 is a lot of money. MC needs that revenue, they owe it & a 3 year extention to pay them should be enough time. #25 should not cloud the facts by suggesting a smear campaigne. These are facts. Election or not, the budget still needed to be done & it would have become known.
Times are changing & the way things have been handled isn't working anymore. So, a FINE job isn't enough. Blind trust w/ our dollars isn't enough.
I agree with your #28 comment that as taxpayers, members of this community we have an obligation. #21.1s welfare comment shows ignorance of what it takes to productive of a community. To keep Madison County an appealing place to live, raise a family & attract commerce citizens must be proactive. Accountability & responsibility is essential. No excuses, no matter who you are.
What have you done for our community? What contributions
do you make anywhere? How about ideas rather than slander.
This was stated above "I should not have to pay for other's
kids". To those who think this way, who payed for your youth.
Do you actually think your parents paid for everything?
You really should be taking your anger out on those who have
stolen from us. For example if our clerk is guilty, then
$56,000 is a lot. Straight out of the budget. That was
only for the first year. What is the Total dollar amount
stolen from US in the past three years that lead us down this
path of finger pointing?
No, I should not have to pay for the education expenses for children of others. We should have a "per child" tax for our schools. The principle behind that idea is really no different than property tax. As it stands now, the person with 100 acres usually pays more property tax than the person with 1 acre. Likewise, the person with 5 children should pay more for schools than an individual with no children. Even though my wife and I have no children, I am willing to pay some taxes for schools. You make the point that I went to public school, so I should pay for my education. I agree. So I am willing to pay a set amount to cover my education. Should we have a child, my wife and I would be willing to pay more based upon the burden (i.e. number of children) we place upon the school system. But the person with 5 children should pay the amount I pay (to cover the cost of his education), and then additionally pay 5 times that amount to cover the expense of his 5 children. To many people having a "per child" tax is a fair system that, once implemented, could perhaps encourage some of our community's more irresponsible incessant breeders to think about the consequences of their actions before they have children. If these individuals never have to feel the consequences of their actions, they will probably never alter their irresponsible behavior. That leaves the rest of us to pay not only for ourselves and our children, but we have to pay for the education of the children of the most irresponsible members of the community as well. Why should we continue to reward irresponsible behavior?
Check your spelling, Coach Mize. Do you expect us to pay for more education for you as well?
Hey chief, if you don't like being the target, maybe you should think BEFORE you print something out in a PUBLIC FORUM. Can't take the heat, stay outta the kitchen.
Nobody said that their parents paid for everything. What they said was that non-parents should NOT have to pay for PARENT'S children.
SHOULD your parents have to "pay for everything"? Darn tootin' they should! If THEY decide to have children, THEY SHOULD BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE CHILDREN!
"Coach" Mize, YOU nor ANYONE ELSE has the right to bring children into this world EXPECTING ME and EVERYONE ELSE to have to sacrifice OUR money and time to help YOU take care of them or to educate them. YOU don't have the RIGHT to make decisions which are FORCED ONTO EVERYONE ELSE. That is one of the biggest things wrong with our country, its just more WELFARE thinking. Hey, let’s just let everyone get a free ride off of the tax payers!!!
And keep in mind, YOU are the one who brought the subject up and DEFLECTED attention away from the point of the discussion, in the first place. Then you want to WHINE about how people should "be taking your anger out on those who have stolen from us".
It’s pretty obvious that, as a "coach", you have a PERSONAL stake in athletics’, hence your defense of the "rec" department. But you know what, "coach"? Some of use don't use or care about your pet project "rec" department. But, we are still FORCED to contribute our hard earned money in as taxes to PAY for it. I would be willing to bet that if it were left up to voluntary contributions to pay for education or “rec” departments, you wouldn’t get a lot of money from MOST of us who don’t have children in school or who don’t use the “rec” department.
Want to talk about who's stolen from us? Well, let me tell you how I feel about things, too, since you have had YOUR say. I think MY money is being "stolen" from me (it IS being taken from me, against my will, to spend on things that I don't want MY OWN MONEY spent on...if that isn't stealing, what is?) to pay for YOUR pet projects and other people's children's welfare and education.
No, I don't have anything against someone having children, nor do I have anything against families. But YOUR choice should not be FORCED on ME or anyone else.
Keep your own personal vendettas out of your post or be prepared to face the replies instead of whining about them.
When was the EMS system supposedly made into a profitable business? Does anyone pay the Sheriff's Department for arresting criminals in your house? What about the fire dept? Do any of you get a bill from them when your house is ablaze? At what point did the general population stop looking at the EMS service as a SERVICE? It is provided to aid the county and help save lives. I can assure you that no one who works in EMS wants to be called upon becuase that means that someone is hurting and in need of aid.
If you want to cut spending, stop calling an ambulance for ridiculous things like a headache, or a toe nail infection, or bad dreams. There are many ways to cut spending and EMS is trying to limit it's spending currently but the attakcs against this department are unfounded and should be stopped.
Again, how many other departments actually generate the kind of income that EMS does?
Shallow thinkning at it best. Do you think your parents
paid for everything or were you opted out? You were provided
at some time or another an opportunity that was some how
supported by tax payers. What about the Library? Taxes and
grants support them as well. Yes, sports are one avenue I choose
My kids volunteer at the Library at times. Church missions
are popular with us. You may not have kids, you probably
did not grow up in our community...but you were a kid. You
went to public school.
I don't mind this medium or the "hot seat".
I don't mind this medium. I prefer to be in the hot seat.
You're one of the most narrow minded people who have posted here. It's obvious that you never consider the possibility that YOU might be wrong, no matter how overwhelming the evidence. Your kind of thinking is exactly what is wrong with our country today. Your "always right", "nobody else's opinion matters" attitude is typical of the people who make all the WRONG decisions for all of the rest of us.
You don't support your position with any facts that are relevant to the point, its all supposition, misdirection and emotional bulldozing, and when someone else does support their position with facts, you try to change the subject to something other than the point at hand...which only proves that you KNOW you are wrong and you KNOW that you can't win the argument.
You are obviously biased, arrogant and too narrow minded and self-important to consider that YOU might not be right about everything.
You insist on ignoring the point of the discussion and try to twist the topic to fit your own view and desires.
Regardless of who was or wasn't a kid or who went to school or didn't, it still should NOT be the responibility of anyone to pay for YOUR education or welfare except for YOUR PARENTS. They brought you into this world, and if they couldn't afford to take care of you, THEY should have thought about that before they decided to HAVE you.
The point is that people who are NOT parents should NOT be FORCED to support other people's children. Period. THE END! No ifs, ands, nor butt-heads about it. Not for school, not for rec departments, not thru health care...nada. It simply is NOT anyone's responsibility except the parents.
It should be the individuals CHOICE to assist, IF they should choose to.
It's as simple and plain as the nose on your face. Anyone who can't see that for the truth that it is has no business trying to tell other people what is or isn't the right thing to do.
Talk about shallow minded! Find a mirror, chief.
Yes, I like you, would love to pick and choose where my tax
money goes. (we never will)
I was young once (nd idalistic)
Yes, I do not compromise children or seniors.
Yes, I am a man, so i am often narrow in my thinking.
My family puts our money where our mouth is...we donated
Cliff Mize Park. For the Love of other peoples children.
Knowing that they will grow to be our leaders one day.
I love this country where you and I may disagree openly
about our poor govonors.
It take us both to keep them in check.
I do appreciate being a Chief...thank you for your
kind words.:) (now is a good time to smile)
If your lonely...I think you would enjoy Jones Chapel.
You are obviously successful. Our tax brackets are not
even fair to singles!
Second, let me assure you that you are anything BUT right.
And if you are "accusing" me of being "young"...once again you couldn't be more wrong.
And once again you try to change the point. Its not about LOVE of anybody, or compromising seniors, children or puppies for that matter.
It is about RIGHTS. You obviously do NOT UNDERSTAND the concept of freedom or rights.
You don't have the right to decide, nor SHOULD anyone have the right to decide that ANYONE ELSE has to work to support anyone else.
Everyone should have the RIGHT TO DECIDE if they want to help others, or not.
It is not an issue of right or wrong, good or bad. Those are ONLY issues if you HAVE THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE to decide for yourself.
Your point of view removes our constitutionally garanteed freedom of choice, and that type of mentality is exactly why we are NO LONGER truly a "free" country.
If given the choice, would I support schools? You bet!
If given the choice, would I support the rec department. Sure thing...chief.
If given the choice, would I support the senior center! Absolutely.
But that is NOT THE POINT.
The point is...you, me, them...everybody, everbody...should have the CHOICE. And we don't. And that is what is wrong, both with your point of view AND with our government.
This is supposed to be a "free nation". But it isn't any longer.
Its time for that to change...and for the better, not worse.
And, by the way...don't worry. I'm not lonely. *LMAO*
As far as closing down EMS stations, the entire point is that since January 01 of this year, our EMS service has been four trucks out a total of 35 times. This means that all four trucks were on calls simultaneously and there were no other trucks available for calls. If you called for an ambulance during that time, you would have gotten one of the crews who had graciously come in to man a truck on their day off so that you would not have to wait for the requested service. I don't currently have the numbers available for how many times we had three trucks out at the same time but I promise you that shutting down an EMS station is one of the most ignorant things we could do as a county. As far as the gentleman's comment about the stations being too close together, EMS didn't decide that, you people did by voting in the administration that made that choice. EMS did not decide where to put that station. The flip side of that argument is the same defense for the first and that would be this, it isn't so much about where the truck is but rather that it is available and again, shutting down a truck is very ignorant and very detrimental to the people in this county.
As of right now, given the collection rate and the outstanding balance due; EMS has collected enough money so that you can estimate that each resident of this county has spent approximately $16.60 for the entire ambulance service. How can anyone say that the service that we have is not worth 16 dollars. Here is another thing to think about, the collection rate for private pay; which is the people with no insurance who call an ambulance, the collection rate for that particular group is at 19% to date. If you want to get the tax bas fixed, call all the people who refuse to pay the bill and tell them that YOU are tired of them freeloading off the rest of the county.
There is no easy solution but at the current rates, the amount of money that this service costs is minimal in a per capita sense of the word.
The other thing is STOP THINKING OF THE WORD OVERTIME!! This is the regular schedule and what are you going to do when you drop the pay rate and everyone leaves? No one will work here for less money than they can make everywhere else around here. Jackson County has a Kelly day which means that they drop one day out of their rotation each time so they only work 2 days per week. They do this effectively by paying more money per hour so that the employees didn't lose money and they offer insurance to the employee that is better and much cheaper than our current plan. It isn't as simple as saying that you need to cut the rate because then you will have no Paramedics when you need help.
I really wish that people had some sort of idea what we do and what we are responsible for, I think if you had to go out at 3 in the morning and pull a dead child out of a car you would have a great deal more respect for what it is we do.
Jon Looney
Paramedic/Supervisor
MCEMS
First, to the people who are attacking EMS? Are any of you willing to spend 24 hours a day two to three times a week away from your family, or you willing to miss a son or daughter ball game? Are you willing to miss the look on your children faces on Christmas when they open their gifts? I think not. These men and women whom you are attacking do this everyday on the week, 52 weeks at of the year as a service to their community. You will not find a more dedicate staff or Director than we have in this county.
Here is something for you to think about…. Say, they do close a station …It late Friday night all the ambulances are out on calls; someone calls in needing an ambulance, patient complaining of chest pain and shortness of breathe and has a history of heart disease.
Are the taxpayers going to like having their tax money going to a lawsuit, because the ambulance was not able to reach the patient in time because they are down one station and the staff that operate the station 24/7? I THINK NOT!
SO CHOSE YOUR BATTLE WISELY, ARE YOU WILLING TO RISK THE HEALTH OF OUR TAXPAYERS TO REDUCE OVERTIME, WHEN THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS... MY BELIEF IS THAT IF WE ALL WORK TOGETHER ANY THING IS POSSIBLE…
Maybe we are putting our money and our attention in the wrong place by always scrambling and raising taxes to pay for the emergencies. Maybe if we invested a little in real, preventive health care we wouldn't be going broke trying to pay for the emergencies.
I believe the wise saying is, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Kevin Cheek
MCEMS Paramedic
Hull VFD Memember
I remember when Madison County had NO EMS and the Sheriff's dept. was almost no-existent. If you had an emergency, you were pretty much on your own.
Wake up citizens of Madison County. We've come a long way and if we don't voice our opinions,and take a stand, we'll be pretty much be on our own once again. It's time we the citizens of Madison Co. stand up and fight back.
Thanks to /Dwayne Patton and Clayton Lowe and ALL your employees for all you do for the citizens of Madison County.
I understand that you personally may not be opposed to government provided health care, and I understand you obviously do not want to lose emergency services. Nor do I. Not sure how to address your statement about fliers and classes because I made no mention of such and don't know what you are talking about or how fliers and classes have any relationship to providing complete health care to all. Classes do not represent preventive health care. Preventive health care refers to regular check-ups with physicians and dentists to detect and prevent health problems and treat them before someone is calling 911.
Those who think it is not their duty to pay for the health care of another need to face up to the fact that they DO pay for it anyway. When that person with no health coverage doesn't go to the doctor because they have no money or coverage, they either go to the emergency room or, they develop a condition that eventually requires expensive emergency treatment. Either way, these people do not pay because they cannot afford to pay. So, we all pay for them anyway, only we have the most inefficient and expensive system in place to deal with the problem: last minute visits to emergency rooms or calls to paramedics. Why not just save ourselves some money and pay for their preventive health care to begin with, when it is exponentially less expensive?
Let's face it, there are some things where the free market is not only not the most efficient and least expensive system for providing a needed service, sometimes the free market is downright detrimental. Two examples of services where the free market simply doesn't in either the humanitarian OR financial best interest of society are public safety and health care.
those that want to cut down the EMS services is unreal.
I can't tell you how many times that I drove to the station just so that my husband and his partner would have a home cooked
meal and be able to have dinner with our children.
How many times I have taken Christmas gifts to the station just
so that my children could open some up with their dad.
How many times we have been woke up by the tones dropping
for a fire call in the middle of the night, not knowing when
he left if something would happen and he not come back.
EMS/Fire is not an individual career, but a FAMILY career.
I'm thankful for all in EMS/FIRE it is a brotherhood/sisterhood
that is unlike any other. I have been around EMS for about
13 years now and I will tell you that when you need them the
most they will always be there.
Don't discredit a profession if you don't have any idea of what
the requirements are in perfoming it. There are a lot of
blood, sweat and tears that accompany every call these guys
go on. Some calls may end at the hospital, but none of them
end in the lives of the EMTs and Medics that work them. The
eyes of the child they just pulled from a wreck are instilled in
their minds forever, a call they will NEVER forget. The mother
pleading with the medic to help her baby, the voice that never
goes away. The wife of 50 years asking is my husband going
to live, the heart break they can't talk about.
EMS/FIRE is not just a "job", it is a way of life for ALL
that are involved.
Get your Facts and make sure your a "rebudgeting" the correct
county department.
Enough is enough. Shut down the wasteful joke that is Animal Control and USE THAT MONEY TO SAVE EMS!!!
need to thank the Good Lord Above, but I have had to call. Not only did I receive
excellent care but also the time it took them to respond was very quick. Think real
hard about this! Do you want to put your life at risk just because this county says we
don't have the money? Do you really want to wait until you need this service to find
out that this is Good Money Spent? This county is so sorry that we don't pay for our
fire departments. We have men and women who VOLUNTEER this service. These brave
men and women give up their time to help us. Think about the last time you did this!
How to pay for this is soooo easy, our comissioners should be begging companies to
come to this county and open shop. What we need is jobs! There are more ways to
bring growth to the county besides letting people build chicken houses. We need to
expand in something besides this business. I like Ingles but lets bring a Kroger or
a Publix here. Lets get a nice steakhouse here (Ryans, Longhorn's, Outback....ect).
Whats so bad with us having a Auto Zone or a Plumbing Store, and I'm tired of having
to go to another county just to buy some underwear. All I ask is think about some
places to buy that chicken and cook that chicken, and spend some of that chicken
money here in THIS county.
It sure is great to live in America where I have the right to voice my opinion and
not have to worry that I may make someone mad.
THANK YOU
Karen Edwards
Lil'Ole Neese Community
No, its past time for someone to stand up and say something because the property owners in this county can only take so much. The bills keep going up and the revenues keep going down.
So, you have the right to express your discontent with suburban sprawl, but what is your SOLUTION? Sitting on your "happy butts"....and watching someone else pay the bills?
You can forget most industry locating here. Energy costs and high gas prices are going to pretty much eliminate residential development in rural farm communities like Madison Co. I already know several people who had moved here in the last 10 years, but worked in Athens / Atlanta who have sold their homes and moved closer to the urban areas where they work. That's good. Driving 30-80 miles to work each day is not sustainable and bad for the environment, not to mention prohibitively expensive. The industry that we have that produces revenue is AGRICULTURE. Doesn't make sense to eliminate the one money-making, job producing, taxpaying industry we have, agriculture, by creating an environment not conducive to agriculture by allowing sprawl.
Look at Weyerhauser. Some industry. When they opened some of the idiots that recruited that business acted like Madison County had won the lottery. Look what they did: left their employees and Madison County high and dry with no notice. Despicable. Meanwhile, the farms that have been producing food, providing jobs, providing incomes and paying taxes without ruining our environment are still working for our county. Ever read "The Tortoise and The Hare?" Agriculture is our tortoise and slow and steady is indeed winning the race. Sustainable agriculture isn't just the best future for Madison County, it's really our only hope. The Weyerhausers, Parallams, K-Marts and Mega Malls come and go without a care for the community. They take our resources and leave destruction in their wake. Agriculture will take care of us if we take care of it. And if the economy enters a depression, at least we will have good food to eat! Try taking a bite out of that toxic glue wood strand product over at Weyerhauser and see how that tastes.