News spread this week that a Department of Juvenile Justice budget proposal that would result in the closure of Milledgeville’s Bill Ireland Youth Development Center was thwarted, albeit temporarily. The decision to delay the final vote came after initial reports that the department would recommend the closure of the facility, which would have resulted in the loss of 400 local jobs on the heels of a tumultuous job market year in Baldwin County following the loss of Rheem, Shaw and two state prisons. But state Sen. Johnny Grant has vowed to push back against any other forthcoming efforts to close the facility. A local delegation is expected to make a trip to Atlanta in the coming weeks to voice their concerns regarding the facility’s future. All options to keep jobs should be considered, and the local community should weigh in with state leaders as well.

“I’m going to continue to meet and have a dialogue to see if we can mitigate these cuts,” Grant said earlier this week of the budget cuts that would result in the YDC’s demise.

There are possibilities to consider rather than an all-out closure of the facility. Ireland’s aging infrastructure has been cited as one reason for its consideration for possible closing, and the fact that it is costly to run — at its present capacity. But the facility could also be downsized, a proposal that may aid efficiency with regards to how it’s run and also save money and keep it open — if that is the only other alternative to closing it altogether. It could also be argued that even if the facility remains open, efforts to increase efficiency are sorely needed in light of the whistleblower scandal that hit the facility earlier this year in which YDC guards were accused of inappropriate relations with juveniles.

Whatever the outlook, and before we even get to the outcome, local residents have an opportunity before them to have their say by contacting state leaders and letting them know what they think of the circumstances and whether you feel the facility should be closed. This type of opportunity likens itself to the scenario earlier this year where a potential fold of the local campus of Central Georgia Technical College with Sandersville Tech was on the table, and local leaders let the local community’s concerns be known in Atlanta. Based on all recent indications, the efforts worked, as no new developments in the merger effort have surfaced.

The local community has the same opportunity yet again to have their concerns heard and weigh in on decisions that impact the economic future of this community. With state jobs and state facilities fading in Baldwin County, members of the local community need to have a say in what’s next and what remains by letting Atlanta know how local residents feel about Baldwin County’s position on the jobs chopping block. Milledgeville/Baldwin County has been a hub of state agencies and jobs that have been filled by local residents or attracted individuals to move to the area. We have always taken pride in that role and need to let Atlanta know we continue to be prepared to provide a home to these state agencies.

“When you get a myriad of different agencies all converging in a single place, everything impacts the community,” Grant said this week. “I hope that the governor understands the cumulative effect on our community. When these agencies are being forced to make cuts, it seems like each of them [is] coming up with Milledgeville as part of their budget solution. That is just unacceptable. We cannot continue to bearthe brunt of these decisions.”

Contact local and state officials and let them know what you think. Contact Gov. Sonny Perdue’s office via the Web at www.gov.state.ga.us; Georgia DJJ Commissioner Albert Murray at (404) 508-6500; and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle via the Web at ltgov.georgia.gov. Our future and the future of Baldwin County is at stake.