Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Why no outcry over county marshals?

I have been surprised at how slow the outcry has been from the taxpayers over the latest attempt by three of the county commissioners to turn the marshals into a county police department, which could potentially cost the citizens millions of dollars.

Part of the reason for this may be the confusing statements made by Commission Chairman Greg Dunn about what’s really going on.

In the fall Chairman Dunn sent a letter to Sheriff Randall Johnson, on county letterhead, plainly stating that the marshals were actually a county police department.

In the last few weeks he has said in numerous articles that he has no intention of them becoming county police.

How can the citizens be clear on the marshals’ role in our local government when the chairman is so unclear? Even the most seemingly educated voter is left scratching their head wondering where the truth lies in all of this.

The truth is this. If the county commissioners want to start a county police department, they have, by law, every right to do so and the sheriff would have no say about it. All they would have to do is let the taxpayers vote on it. This is what they are trying to avoid, and this is what we should all be enraged about.

To keep us from having a say in how our public funds are spent, the county commissioners (or at least three of them) are trying to redefine the intention of commissioners 15 years ago when the marshals were created.

If they can convince a court somewhere that in 1989 the commissioners intended to create a police department when they created the marshals, then they will be able to use our money to pay for one. If they succeed they can do it without any input from you and me.

The outrageous part of that is none of them were on the board of commissioners at the time. The commissioners that were on the board at the time are saying starting a police department was never their intention. They had no way of knowing that 15 years down the road another board would change the focus of the department they created just to keep the public from having a vote on the matter.

What is going on is wrong. If they want a new government agency, they should allow the voters to have a say in its creation (or redefinition). They are, after all, Republicans who by declaring so, are supposed to be seeking less government.

In a county with some of the best law enforcement in metro Atlanta, these politicians want to force upon us a police agency without our say. Why? Probably to generate more revenue which these same politicians can spend on their own pet projects. The harassment we will suffer while they generate those revenues will be intrusive and unnecessary.

Our sheriff is trying to force them to let us have a say in the matter by our vote. We should all be rallying behind his efforts to preserve our right to have a say in how OUR money is spent.

Thomas Williams

Fayetteville, Ga.