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Show Better decisions are made with ' more public input The people of Davis County finally have a commissioner who doesn't appear to worry about asking "dumb" questions; "dumb" questions like "where's the money going to come from to pay for our projects." "dumb" enough to speak up and ask for an opinion from the Davis County Attorney when he questions the legality of certain actions. Make no mistake, asking those questions hasn't been much fun for Commissioner Commis-sioner Lawrence, and he's certainly getting no respect from many county staff members for asking. But really, is it wrong to ask questions? Wouldn't it be worse to rubber stamp an action ac-tion you had reservations about? Probably many people would agree from their own experience that it's a wholelot easier to say no first and then change your mind to yes, than to sign a contract or make an agreement and then decide it was a mistake. Sure, time is lost, but what's the rush? A lot more time could be spent correcting mistakes on issues decided in haste. The question that comes to mind is what's wrong with the rest of Davis County, the people who are paying the bills of county spending through their taxes. Are the county taxpayers ever going to get "dumb" enough to start asking questions themselves? For example, for once and for all do we have enough money for the jail complex? Do we have money for . animal control? Do we. have the money to run the new senior citizen center? Maybe we don't have the money to do all the things we would like to do. The Commissioners, after all, are looking at tax anticipation bonds because county funds may run out before next year's taxes start coming in. That's a situation situa-tion that needs some thought. Do we cut services or do we raise taxes? Those are the only two choices. Shifting animal control to the cities, for example, doesn't make the expense go away. It's just that the city collects it rather than the county. Perhaps the people of Davis County are not unique. Maybe people in other counties show a lack; of interest inn county government too. But is would be nice to believe that people in this county are smarter, more concerned citizens. Sure, lots of people in Davis County are well off, and maybe they can shrug off the increasing fees, rising taxes and so forth. But there must be some people who care. The best thing for Davis County would be for its residents to take an active interest in the county's government. Come to commissioner meetings and see and hear for yourself what goes on. If you have a question or concern, call a commissioner commis-sioner and ask for information. Our commissioners are good men but they are, sadly enough, only human,, Jfe. doubt .they ' will make errors in judgment front time to time. Everyone does. But they could make better decisions with more input and support from the people they represent If you support what a commissioner says or does, let him know. He'll be glad to hear that you agree with him. If you think a commissioner is wrong, let him know too. He may not be so glad to hear from you but an opinion clearly and politely stated always carries some weight Then show up at a commissioner meeting from time to time. Honestly, it can be very interesting! And remember, re-member, it's your county too. |
