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Should Barnesville control the future of Lamar County

Posted by
Walter Geiger
in Opinion
Thursday, June 23. 2011
Comments (9)
BY KENT KINGSLEY

The answer to that question is a resounding no and our county elected officials should do everything within their power to prevent this from occurring. What am I referring to? I’m referring to the transfer of Lamar County’s water system to Barnesville in exchange for the county assuming the cost for operating the library. First, a bit of background/history of how we got to where we are today.

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#1 My one dollar on 06/23/11 at 11:16 AM
The city and county should be consolidated into one government. It will save the county as a whole and tax payers alot of money over time.. The same should happen with the city police and county sheriff departments..
#1.1 Anonymous on 06/23/11 at 12:28 PM
As a county resident, I totally disagree with you. This county does not consist solely of the city of Barnesville. The County and the City have different issues to deal with and need separate governments.

If I wanted to have a government that was controlled by a non elected official, I would live in Barnesville. I choose to do differently.
#1.1.1 county resident on 06/23/11 at 06:28 PM
Think of the redundancy that occurs in both Governments. I agree with #1.
#1.1.1.1 Anonymous on 06/23/11 at 07:02 PM
There are two cities in this county -- What do you suggest should be done with Milner -- do you suggest abolishing Milner's city government? Should the entire county just be called Barnesville? I agree with 1.1.

There may be some services that could be combined, but which government do you propose doing away with? The city of Barnesville has a City Manager that is not subject to election by the people.. I am sorry, but I prefer to be able to elect the people that are in charge of the government.
#1.1.1.1.1 Anonymous on 06/23/11 at 11:23 PM
Both governments are the same. One has hired a manager and the other has recently fired a manager and is currently looking for one. Both governments have an elected council/board to represent the citizens. If there were a consolidation, it would remain the same. One set of elected representatives with a professional manager working at their discretion.

By the way, Kent is clearly not current on all of the issues. He has been out of the politics for a while, so I choose to give him a pass. Unfortunately, many citizens will think his circle talk makes sense. His "two cents" is transparent and feeble.
#1.1.1.1.1.1 bobo on 06/24/11 at 03:18 PM
While I agree with your take on the make up of government, I disagree with your stab at Kent. I know the man personally and have found him to be very much current on the issues, and especially more so than myself. While he may not be a current member of Lamar County's government, he is still actively involved in politics. To me, he raises a valid point.
#1.1.1.1.2 Anonymous on 06/23/11 at 11:52 PM
Come on... the City Manager is hired, and can be fired, by the ELECTED City Council. The City Manager may be in charge of the day to day operations of the City, but he must ultimately answer to the City Council. If you don't like how the City is being run, vote out the people who put the individual(s) you dislike in the position of authority. It's really quite simple, IF you have even a basic understanding of how the City government is structured.

It's amazing to me how people who are too stupid, or too lazy, to find out how their local government actually works can figure out how to post on this forum. Too many whiners and not enough problem solvers.
#1.1.1.1.3 Anonymous on 06/27/11 at 06:46 PM
Milner has a Police dept. and a (Federal) Post Office...not hardly enough to justify it having "city" status...lol
#2 Anonymous on 06/24/11 at 12:09 AM
I hear you crying foul, but I don't hear you offering any alternatives. By all accounts the Water Authority is on death's door, and either the County or the City are going to ultimately have to take it over. There are basically 2 options: Option #1, the County takes the Water Authority over and everyone's taxes go up at least 2 mil's; or Option #2, the The City takes the Water Authority over and everyone's taxes stay the same. Cry about your political principles all you want, but unless you have another workable solution that will keep my taxes from going up, I say let the City have it. If you live out in the County and don't want to deal with the City for water... dig a well.
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