City and county leaders need to find a way to work together

Published 11:06 am Tuesday, September 4, 2018

City and county officials are at a standstill in negotiations on a new service delivery strategy with an impending deadline approaching. 

Local officials have missed two previous extension deadlines, one in February and another in June, to get the plan finalized as required by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Now, officials are bringing in negotiators to arbitrate in an effort to iron out the differences.

The service delivery strategy, which every county and city develops, helps communities establish a framework for providing funding for local services such as libraries, recreation, airports and infrastructure. It helps determine who pays and who is responsible for what and at what portion.

Compromise and negotiations are a part of politics, we see that take place at every level of government, and it’s certainly not the first time it’s happened here locally. 

Last year officials had a back and forth regarding 1-cent sales tax bonds that ended up in superior court. There are numerous other examples as well. 

It’s one thing to have a give and take in the spirit of good compromise, however, when this type of back-and-forth becomes second nature it exposes a lack of leadership. 

The fact that a new service delivery agreement was needed isn’t new information and the deadline certainly wasn’t a surprise to anyone on the city or county’s side.

If local leaders, who are charged with crafting the vision and steering the direction of the community’s future, can’t sit down at the table and iron out these kinds of pertinent details, we can only imagine how many other opportunities to get great things accomplished for this community are slipping through our grasp because leaders can’t see eye to eye and find middle ground — and at what cost to this community’s future?

It’s also worth mentioning that all of this will be done at a cost to local taxpayers, who will foot the bill for hiring the mediators.

Local leadership shouldn’t have to hire mediators to settle a dispute among those charged with working in the best interest for the community. 

If nothing else, this idea of bringing in mediators gives off the perception that city and county officials simply can’t work together and that they don’t get along. 

As they say, perception is oftentimes a reality. 

In the case of local elected leadership all we have to base things on is what’s before us, and right now that’s mediation. 

If perception isn’t reality in this case — as no doubt local leadership will contend — they need to prove us all wrong.

City and county officials need to sit down at the table together and get this done.