At the beginning of my first term, I was asked to vote on a millage rate that I had not participated in producing. That’s because I was elected in a special election and took office in August 2001, after the budget had already been adopted. Normally, a term begins in January.

The budget process starts each year with a series of meetings that address how much money will be spent, or not spent, on all of the items that are proposed. This would include personnel, operating and capital expenses. When the millage rate is set, it is set to pay for that budget, based on the tax digest determined by the tax commissioner. It has to be; this is what a “balanced budget,” which we must have by law, means.

That year there was no rollback. The vote on the millage rate was not unanimous, even though the process that produced it was mostly unanimous. I have reread the minutes; I can’t see where objections were made to the spending on the items that made up that budget.

I voted for that millage rate. I believed that it was not responsible to pretend that we could just start over.

I think that if a commissioner has gone through the entire process, and had not objected to any specific part of the budget, that they are then obligated to support the completed budget, the time to object being long past.

In every year after that one, until this year, we rolled the millage back. I believe that I contributed to those rollbacks because I supported the lower spending that produced those budgets.

This year, I may have been opposed to some elements of this budget. But, this year we had three new members of this commission. I believe that their election entitled them to make some changes. You elected them. I did not make a substantial protest to most of the changes they wanted.

When you make changes, you incur new expenses. That’s why I voted for this budget and for the millage rate to support it.

Next year, I will push for a budget that will revert to a rollback and, unless there is some emergency, I won’t support a budget that doesn’t.

But, if it’s necessary, I will object to spending much earlier in the process, like when we actually go over the budget line items and when we add new people.

But, I think that to withdraw support at the end, when you haven’t made a strong protest along the way is unfair to the other commissioners and the public and somewhat underhanded.

Peter Pfeifer

County Commission, Post 3

Peachtree City, Ga.

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