Budget cuts is the frequently used jargon now days. Columbia County's government has been hit pretty hard these days with the economy in the toilet. But then so has every taxpayer in the county, everyone has lost wages, health care or their jobs. What mystifies me is the song and dance that our new elected sheriff is singing. Sheriff Dickerson ran on a platform boasting that he could do a better job than Sheriff Simmons, Dickerson was going to have more patrolmen on the streets he was going to run a more efficient department, all he had to do was to make the changes. While Sheriff Simmons stood on his platform being candid with the voters, stating that there was no extra money there was not enough money to have more patrolmen on duty throughout the county, while Dickerson spoke otherwise ensuring the voters that he would run an efficient department, have more deputies on patrol. Well the voters fell for Dickerson's promises and voted Simmons out and him in
As Gomer Pyle said, Surprise Surprise, Surprise. We have fewer deputies on patrol than before, the department is near ruin, but to be fair, the sheriff's department lost revenue from the federal marshals contract, rumor has it that the federal Marshals' could not work well with Dickerson so they did not renew their contract.

With the reduction of money coming into the sheriff department, it did not stop the "new sheriff from purchasing new cars for the department, now I think that they could have used the cars that they had and kept the men/women working, in my opinion that would have been a better decision for everyone.

Now some people say that we should have voted in the new tax increase for the sheriff's department of .49 cents per thousand and that would have provided enough money to run the department I ask you how was it that Simmons ran the dept so well on less dollars? And the new Sheriff cannot?

The taxpayer's of the county can not afford another tax increase where does these people think the money will come from, can the taxpayers cut out another loaf of bread or jug of milk for their kids? Maybe push more people over the edge where they cannot make their property taxes or house payments, I think not. Right now the taxpayers are paying .38 cents per thousand for ever and an annual 3% increase, for a proposed and doomed so-called hospital, critical access or now a rural hospital, that has so many problems that chaos looks good. I think tightening of all government budgets might be just what the doctor ordered to make wise men and frugal people of our elected officials once more.

               
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