Davis/Alston Axis Becoming Self-Parodic

The News and Record reported this morning County Commissioners Chairman Bruce Davis' displeasure at Republican efforts to solicit alternative budget scenarios from department chiefs assuming lower levels of spending than initially proposed by the County Manager.

"I think it's a ploy just to make confusion because the Republicans are not going to vote for this budget anyway.   And they have done a serious disservice to the community by doing this," Davis exhorted. 

David Hoggard appropriately questions this non sequitur.

Mr. Davis apparently assumes that the entire Board should march in lockstep with the County Manager's recommendations.  That is not, however, how the process works.  The County Manager works for the Board of Commissioners-- not vice versa. 

It would be good, however, for the Commissioners to conduct their own research so they can arrive at their own proposals without relying upon staff.  A comparable effort in Rockingham County led to the appointment of a panel of citizens to compare expenditures with those from other comparable counties and find economies.  This process of benchmarking, and the persistence of the commissioner (disclosure: a friend) who advocated it, was the antecedent to a budget agreement that resulted in no tax increases for Rockingham County residents.  One principled commissioner changed the terms of the conversation.

In the City of Reidsville, Mayor Jay Donecker (disclosures: another friend, and the city is a client) recently provided leadership that resulted in the loss of several firefighters' positions by attrition to keep taxes down.  It was not an easy decision; but leadership entails such choices.

The  premise that economies are unattainable in Guilford County is ludicrous.  It is not possible to know unless one looks-- with thoroughness, skepticism and discernment.  Mr. Davis and his sponsor, Skip Alston, run the risk of degenerating into self-parody if they obdurately refuse to provide sound leadership that adequately safeguards taxpayers' money.