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The County Line
- Fall Issue 2005
Good government is still about the people
Getting out of the office and into the "real world" of county government is always a very productive thing for us - and always helps us remember what is important in county government.
Most of the time, we find ourselves in Montgomery and we talk to county officials and employees about their problems by telephone or electronic means. But there is no question that we learn a lot from those occasions when we are able to observe county government first hand.
Just the other night we attended a county commission meeting. And although we were there for one specific purpose, the activities during the meeting give us a renewed insight into what is going on in county government today.
First, it is evident that Alabama counties are making a diligent effort to comply with both the letter and the intent of the new open meetings law.
At this particular commission meeting, the chair went to great lengths to make sure that members of the public were given the opportunity to speak, that the agenda items guided the activities of the commission, that no issues were added to the agenda without unanimous consent and, perhaps most importantly, that the letter of the law was observed when the commission decided to conduct an executive session.
It was interesting that the reporter assigned to cover the commission meeting had left the building - much like Elvis, I guess - long before the meeting ended and long before the commission followed proper procedure in conducting its executive session. The executive session was not a surprise to anyone; it was clearly listed on the agenda. But when the commission moved to the portion of the agenda reserved for the executive session, the only persons remaining in attendance were county employees and the representative of the Association.
The reporter and the other members of the public were long gone. Hum.
Second, the issue of constructing subdivisions to county standards is still a major problem in county government.
During this upcoming legislative session, the Association will ask the Alabama Legislature to pass two bills aimed at improving the current process of reviewing and approving the construction of subdivisions and homes in rural Alabama.
One of the bills will make significant changes in the current subdivision statute, establishing a new subdivision permit that developers must obtain before beginning construction. This permit, which will be no more than $25, is designed to help counties intercept subdivision construction BEFORE it has moved so far that problems with inferior road construction cannot be corrected.
The second bill will give counties the ability to require a construction permit for those persons building in the unincorporated areas of the state. Under current law, counties can establish and enforce building codes. But most counties do not have the financial resources to set up a building inspection department and enforce electrical, plumbing and other similar codes for every building that is being constructed in the unincorporated area.
This proposed legislation would allow counties to simply require a permit before construction begins. Like the subdivision permit, this is designed to help counties know about construction and to address problems BEFORE it is too late to make corrections.
Discussions of subdivisions, including the persistent road problems that come with those subdivisions, is a problem that finds its way to almost every county commission agenda throughout the state.
Third, things work much better in county government when elected officials are on the same "page."
Now, I am sure that what we observed in this one commission meeting does not mean that there are never any conflicts in this particular county. Honestly, I'm not really that innocent. But the positive working relationship that was evident between the commission and the sheriff was encouraging to watch.
The sheriff was on the agenda to discuss with the county commission his desire to seek local legislation to levy a fee on the issuance of court papers. The sheriff acknowledged that the county commission was doing its best to fund his department, but stated that he needed additional revenue.
He told the commission that the legislation would allow him to pay for the cost of serving papers and, thereby, focus more of the existing revenue on patrol officers.
So many times we read and hear about finger pointing and blame passing on the issue of funding for the sheriffs department. It was great to see a sheriff willing to come up with a funding mechanism for his department and to hear the county commission express its support and gratitude to the sheriff for his leadership.
By the way, the sheriff asked the commission to approve three other requests during the meeting and those all passed unanimously. Hum, again.
Fourth, and most importantly, county government is really more about people than it is about roads, voting machines, sheriff's cars and courthouses. And that was brought home clearly during the first part of the commission meeting.
The first 20 minutes focused on the presentation of plaques to the family of a long-time county employee who had recently died. When I arrived, the county commission meeting room was crowded and I wondered what issue on the agenda had ignited those in attendance.
Well, almost everyone was there for the presentation. Each member of the commission and the county engineer took the opportunity to discuss his relationship with the employee and what that person had meant to the county and to him personally.
And then several members of his family stood to thank the commission for its support of and love for the employee. Every speaker used the term "family" to describe the relationship between the worker and the others in county government.
I was reminded of a quote from Richard Nixon, who said that our country is great "not because of what government did
for people, but because of what people did for themselves and for one another."
Sometimes, I guess we forget that county government is really about people. We often find ourselves so involved in complying with the open meetings law or making sure subdivision regulations are followed or hiring two additional deputies that we forget - we're in the people business, we're not in the government business.
County government exists to help people and the relationships that are forged over the years transcend elections, administration changes and problems that at the time seem very important.
I guess it is a shame that sometimes you have to get out of Montgomery to be reminded.
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