Cobb Should Try 'Intentional Budgeting'

I guess that by now the Cobb Board of Commissioners and Chairman Tim Lee are starting to get tired of all the complaints and criticism directed their way on . Maybe they're just doing the best they can, although I sure hope that's not the case. Certainly, the problem is huge and the options seem limited. So I'd like to offer a little different perspective for them to consider.

Some "intentional budgeting" might be in order instead of "reactionary budgeting." It seems fairly simplistic and linear to just say "we've got to cut 10 percent from every department" or "we need to cut hours at the library." That approach seems like keeping the kudzu away with a pair of scissors or cutting down the phone pole because kudzu grows on it. I don't think that's going to work.

Maybe if we'll start from the premise that the government simply can't be all things for all people, we at least have a chance to get ahead of the curve. The next step is to take a close look at the legitimate functions of government. Being a pretty strict Constitutionalist, I think that doesn't go very far beyond your basic police and fire department. But since we've gown accustomed to some things, maybe we could leave in the Department of Transportation, the library system, the school system (although that should be voluntary) and the economic evelopment function.

If you start there, you get to cut entire departments, indeed entire functional areas that get to move to the private sector where they belong and where they can be financed at the level of those folks that use those services. There should no more tax money for local charities or arts or whatsoever. Athletic facilities should never have been brought into the government.

As I mentioned in , there are private companies that can run our athletic facilities for less and do a better job WITHOUT us having to pay another dime for maintenance, upkeep or personnel. Why can't public parks be located adjacent to schools instead of creating additional overhead and maintenance expense? And finally, it's time to get the county out of the real estate business.

We need to take some creative measures to get rid of some properties and allow private contractors to maintain and operate those facilities on a competitive basis.

In short, we need to take a meat clever to our budget instead of a scalpel. Once we get the fat (I'm talking lard) off the budget, we need to stabilize our revenues and never allow our government to grow beyond our ability to control it, predict it and feed it without it pooping all over the house.