By DAVE HAMRICK
Editor-at-large

I sat in a joint meeting of Fayette County and local city officials recently and listened to a consultant report on the findings of a fairly extensive study of how local governments work.

One of the memories that stands out after listening to this consultant is significant, not because it was a rare occurrence — just the opposite — I've witnessed similar reactions so frequently over the last seven years that they can only be described as typical.

“Blown away” were the words this particular consultant used to describe his reaction to the quality of government and the quality of life in Fayette County.

He was blown away with the quality of planning he witnessed in the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. He was blown away with the depth and accuracy of information he was getting from the Finance Department. He was blown away with the sheer quality of services that Fayette County residents receive from their government.

I've talked to state-level bureaucrats, politicians from surrounding counties, visiting dignitaries, all sorts of people who come to Fayette County and gush with praise for what they see here.

A lot of people deserve a lot of credit for all of that, but the man who has quietly run the day to day operations of county government for 15 years, Billy Beckett, certainly deserves a healthy share of that credit as well.

In fact, he can take most of the credit, because he was the person who hired and managed almost all of the other quality professionals who form the county team.

Having dealt with public officials numbering in the thousands over my 28-year career in journalism, I can add my own two cents worth. I can't think of a single appointed head of government operations who has impressed me more than Billy Beckett.

It's not just the fact that he has always been open with the press, though that's a plus. It's also the fact that when you go into the county offices, you encounter people who know their jobs, who are friendly and open with visitors — be they reporters, members of the general public or other government officials — and who exhibit all the signs of good morale.

I was as shocked as anyone when I learned Monday that the County Commission was firing Billy Beckett.

After doing a quick story on the straight-up facts as they were presented, then a side-bar in which I interviewed Billy, I thought about doing the standard “reaction” story. I have already talked to quite a few people knowledgeable about government doings who would like to hang the commissioners from the nearest tree.

I don't know if we'll end up doing such a story or not. I don't think it would serve to enlighten anyone very much. If we do print a reaction story, I can promise you one thing: we'll give the commissioners a chance to respond to any criticisms we print.

Meanwhile, the only people who know why they fired such a popular figure are the five members of the Board of Commissioners, and they're not talking.

Truth is, they don't need a reason. A county administrator is much like a football coach or a preacher. He serves multiple bosses and can be fired for any reason or no reason. The fact that he has remained in favor through 15 years of political bodies that change every two years is remarkable in itself.

Critics are saying the commissioners simply wanted a “yes” man, and Billy doesn't fit that bill. There are underlying hints that commissioners were unhappy with the fact that Beckett works a second job as a college sports referee. Some think he was too abrasive when acting as a buffer between county employees and commissioners.

Perhaps the commissioners simply felt he had been there too long and the staff had gotten into a rut... needed shaking up a bit. Unless they decide to spill the beans, we'll never know.

I'm sure critics will also wonder whether any of that was worth the cost of losing such an obviously high quality administrator, or even the pure monetary cost of buying him out of his contract — well over $100,000 when benefits are factored in.

Given a chance to get in a few licks in this newspaper, Billy showed the same class he has always shown and opted instead to wish the county and its elected officials well. Change can be a good thing, he said.

Well, I hope this change will turn out to be a good thing for Billy Beckett.

One thing's for sure... he will have no shortage of job offers.

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