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Supervisor proposes govt. change |
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Tuesday, 20 October 2009 |
By KELLY DANIELS
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An Oktibbeha County supervisor is recommending restructuring the county government to his colleagues.
In response to negative backlash after recent county board actions, District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer said he conducted research about his position.
“For some reason people have misunderstood the responsibilities of a supervisor,” he said, noting that supervisors have 229 duties, and the most important one is policy making.
Trainer, who has no other job, could not find information indicating or implying that the position of Oktibbeha County Supervisor was part-time.
“People seem to think we meet for four hours a month and get a $1,000 an hour,” he said. “I would like to be in a position to where I can actually do more.”
Trainer proposed the idea of switching county operations from the unit system to the beat system.
“I really think now is a good time to do something of this nature,” he said.
The county could pattern itself after Jones County, he said, which went from the unit system to the beat system and later back to the unit system after local citizens disfavored the switch.
Describing Trainer’s language as generic and vague, District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard asked Trainer to provide more specifics about Jones County.
“They have few gravel roads,” Trainer answered.
Currently on the unit system, Oktibbeha County manages its road operations by giving each supervisor an equal number of miles to be paved in the four-year road plan.
The beat system, Trainer contends, will give him more control over funds, miles and even road equipment.
Board President and District 5 Supervisor John Young called the current system a more collective system and remembered research he conducted 25 years ago on both structures while he was enrolled in
what is now known as the Leadership FORUM.
Young reportedly found that the unit system worked better for the county.
If officials decided to make a switch, voters would have to approve it by 51 percent.
District 4 Supervisor Daniel Jackson, whose district is less rural than Trainer’s, said that rural areas would be more likely to approve the switch than those who live in city boxes.
“If you’re looking for a campaign cohort, I’m out,” he said.
Trainer also suggested consolidation of government with the City of Starkville, which would take legislative action, or to stay the same and enhance what the county already has.
Howard suggested that the board could simply sit with County Administrator Don Posey and offer him suggestions for improving efficiency.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 22 October 2009 )
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