While the incoming Obama Administration seems to be announcing the creation of new “Czars” to oversee areas in the federal government, with the state’s budget crisis, why not create the position of “Georgia Budget Czar?” The person I would choose: Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens.
Okay, a Budget Czar at the state level may not be the best idea, but once again Chairman Olens (and a little pat on the back to us Cobb voters who have twice elected him Chairman) has kept the county in the black. According to today’s Marietta Daily Journal reporting on Olen’s State of the County;
The county hasn’t gone without its share of pain, Olens said, referencing the $19.56 million in cuts to the county’s budget the Board of Commissioners made in December.
But he said Cobb is one of the only major jurisdictions that hasn’t dipped into reserves, increased taxes, furloughed or laid off employees, or cut services. And he said he believes the board should not have to make any more similar budget cuts.
Olens said the county is even set to announce today an audited surplus for the fiscal year 2008 budget. This rare announcement in the current economy received applause from more than 300 business and community leaders in attendance at Monday’s breakfast.
At today’s Board of Commissioners meeting, the county’s budget office is expected to announce a year-end budget surplus of $384,251 for the 2008 fiscal year.
“I didn’t say it’s a large surplus, but it’s a surplus,” Olens said.
Of course Olens can’t take all the credit, add his leadership to a great team including the Board of Commissioners and County Manager David Hankerson and maintaining Cobb on a firm fiscal footing as the recession deepens does not seem like an insurrmountable task as the county moves forward.
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When Erick and Clayton switched to Cheney-Bush Socialism, did they remove the PP search tool from the public eye? Icarus was fixing to fork over a recipe for green bean casserole and i can’t remember what topic it is under…
You said that you didn’t want the recipe, and I said “you kiss your mother’s ass and go straight to hell, loser” and then we moved on. No need to search.
Though Nindy/Magic Jeff provided one that takes 6 months to make.
http://www.peachpundit.com/2009/01/13/cindye-coates-comment-abuse-and-multiple-accounts/
Gwinnett’s commission was going to balance the budget too. They proposed a $500 fine for not recycling.
Shouldn’t they be called Caesars instead of Czars? Since “Czar” is derived from the term “Caesar” … sounds cooler too. Kaiser works too…
Kiki works better…
Oh, so you know this first hand? Icarus, You dirty dog.
On a more serious note, good to see that my county is in the black, but I hate to think what the housing downturn will do to the treasury in 2009 since I’m seeing a lot of half built subdivisions and empty lots that were supposed to be $500K homes.
sheesh, i got a pound of day old, cooked, fermenting, green beans in the fridge and all you guys can think about is cousin sonny’s borrow, tax and spend politics…
oh, thanks to him, your Home Property Taxes just went up about 30-40%. If you don’t read the macon telegraph, you are a day late and a few hundred dollars short:
http://lucididiocyblog2.blogspot.com/2009/01/homestead-exemptions-get-axed.html
Vic, is there anyone in Georgia politics who you’re NOT related to?
My last name is Jones and my great grandmother was a Smith, so the answer is, “NoSir No, there is no one in Georgia that i am not related to, Sir.”
I have Shepherds (though as well noted on here, the Shepherds were Yankees), Futches, Thigpens and Todds. All of which you will find mostly between Bryan County and Laurens County. No Smiths or Jones and Oxendine is a NC name.
In some circles, having a “surplus” means you didn’t cut enough taxes.
In those same circles are Republicans who live in another county where they have no problem running deficits to operate the county and would rather seek to throw rocks at Sam Olens for his conservative financial leadership.
Seems TOO many Republicans have co-opted the term “conservative” to be strictly social conservative and to heck with fiscal conservatism.
(E.G., See Bush, George W.)
we’re cousins through the thigpen side, if it’s connected to the same one who wrote the three faces of eve, that’s probably why you use the five faces of shep on pp and work with roy one year and ox the next. and cousins by marriage through the Todd-Logue connection of Glascock County, Gibson, hell’s half acre, Georgia.
What’s wrong with the occasional Czarina? Although technically “Czarina” is the wife or the widow of a Czar. So at least in DC we already have Czarinas. Behind every good Czar there’s a good Czarina. Not sure what’s behind rotten Czars.
What’s the budget for a budget Czar. And how much wood could a wood chuck chuck…
Why don’t they have open tryouts for the GA budget Czar? They could call it “Czar search”. Hold it right outside the Atlanta office for ACORN. I hear that’s where the zombie tryouts are. People could audition for both.
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