OK, Howard County, you can stop the run on batteries and ammunition. No need to keep digging that shelter to protect you from the destitute, hungry, homicidal hordes. For Howard County now has a budget. And of course, since the state passed a budget in its special session earlier this month, no "Doomsday Budget" scenario was necessary. Whew.
Lindsey McPherson brings us all the budget deliberation goodness here. Greg Fox wound up being the lone dissenter to the budget plan-- again-- after his effort to reduce the fire tax increase failed.
I'm not sure how much I care about how much the fire tax is raised, but I will bring up something that I think would be a neato idea that's hinted at in the article, kinda. Shouldn't Howard County have some sort of commission to examine county government and look it how it both gathers revenue and spends it? Because it seems to me some opportunities are being missed.
In support of this I bring you the recent debacle about the police overtime costs as one example. But it would seem to me that it would behoove county government to audit itself every once in a while, in order to identify efficiencies and opportunities.
In fact, I'm going to bet that county government can find enough crappy spending to give county employees maybe a 1% pay increase or so? I think local employees would appreciate that.
So let's see if the administration gives itself a 6-year check up from the neck up, and county government gets a good old-fashioned, Al Gore-style performance review. Bet it won't!!!
