Back to Business
It is that time, again. The gifts have been opened and the ball has dropped ushering in a new year. Now, after what has seemed to be a very long break, it is time to get back to business as usual. What exactly is business as usual? Well, there are policies to be set and a budget to prepare. We have another school building program underway and there is still the issue of housing the DOE to contend with right off the bat. Some things will still be the same. Committee members do not change this year, so there is some continuity there and the learning curve should be out of play this time around. We are midway through the sophomore year for this County Commission and it is time that they settle into some sort of rhythm. Certainly, there are still several law suits on the table and they may continue to make for strange bedfellows but I am looking for a little more continuity in 2016 than we had in 2015.
Granted, there are some disenchanted members of the County Commission and I think that largely comes from where they are in their term of service. Does anyone remember 10th grade? No longer the starry eyed freshman. Not yet the battle savvy junior. While this Commission has had some big bumps in the road, and there have been times that it has left me scratching my head in confusion, it has done a couple of good things. Hopefully, 2016 will bring less of the former and more of the latter. I am seriously hoping that someone takes up the mantle for Rush Strong School because at the very least those folks that have students in that school or live on the river deserve to have an official response regarding the status of the output of the sewer system. I also hope that they, the County Commission, seriously consider a reduction in numbers on the County Beer Board. They conduct those hearings at the end of County Commission meetings, which are long and tedious. No one is fresh or alert or in the mood to spend one more minute in a meeting and that is understandable. But, it is unfair to those business owners whose livelihood depends on the Beer Board’s decisions to stand trial before a group of people that are not at their best or sharpest. When dealing with business owners, the very heart beat of our sales tax generation and employers of our residents, those considering penalties and fines should have nothing on their mind but the business at hand. It would be impossible to ask Commissioners to come from a lengthy meeting, one that is often riddled with debate, and bring no residue from that meeting to their decision making. Why this is such an issue with some Commissioners, I have no idea. Logically speaking, one Commissioner from each district should sit on the Beer Board. Perhaps, since the Budget Committee has such time commitments, the Beer Board should run parallel to the Nominating Committee? That would be a reasonable compromise.
Other issues that I see right off the starting block include another look at Senior Tax Freeze and the possibility of some new tax avenues. Some will likely find easy favor and others will have heated opposition. This is also the year of elections and, as winter turns to spring, things should begin to heat up in more than one way. The School Board will have some decisions to make regarding White Pine School and how far they can stretch $2 million dollars. And before even the first nail is hammered at White Pine School, the question of housing the Department of Education will have to be answered, as the tab began accumulating on their borrowed digs with the change of the calendar.
All in all, it will most likely be an exciting year. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes satisfying, 2016 may be both better and worse than 2015. And that, without the help of a really good physic or my trusty magic eight ball, is a far out on a limb as I am going to go. Welcome 2016! We have been waiting for you.
