Communication is vital to Macon County's future

Here in Macon County we have legitimate questions of OUR roads, lack of shopping and restaurants, safety, and schools.

To address these concerns there must be continuous open upward and downward communication with citizens and government.

We the people in our daily lives have a much greater understanding of our hardships, desires, and lack of adequate socio-economics than those 5 sitting behind the dais.

Guest columns to The Tuskegee News, use of our local radio stations, and maybe an annual county newsletter coordinated with another departmental mailout shall be considered and utilized.

So many venues are available to communicate with the citizens, and they will be used. We the citizens are the cross section of our county, not those five believing they have all of the knowledge, energy, and answers. I am infuriated when I hear an elected public servant declare an issue is "complicated" only wanting to keep their knowledge and decision-making processes from the people. No one person in this county knows the extent and breath of our problems.

I propose an ad hoc committee of volunteers, not appointees being an extension of the appointing commission, to have access to the entire county and all elected and key public servants to determine the extent of our problems, similar to an internal audit. Once the research is completed, a second committee shall come together to begin strategies to solve those problems.

As the District 4 Commissioner, I will invite the School Superintendent, Revenue Commissioner, Probate Judge, Sheriff, a representative of the TU student government, and county committee chairs to annually speak with the commission and audience providing their last year successes and difficulties and goals and objectives for the forthcoming year.

I have heard Shorter Mayor Powell state a couple of times there is no communication within and out of the county government.

Consider this for a moment. I know of an elected public servant and an employee who did not know of a county annual budget meeting the day before the meeting. In fact they had not been consulted about their area of responsibilites or previously provided a copy of their proposed budgets.

Our communication problems must and will be resolved to move forward.

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