Whitfield

currently pending in court, (2) the TAN the Bebe took in June 2016 for $5 million, (3) the $15.3 million for the industrial park bond, (4) a lease purchase of $300,000 for new patrol cars, (5) $1 million line of credit for the landfill expansion, (6) EPD fines of $76,000, (7) misused money from SPLOST 9.1 million that should be paid back to the SPLOST account. When all this is added together and subtract out the two debt payments you are hitting $80 million in debt.

These records, plus losses at the landfill and Mountain Cove Farms, overwhelmingly show that the current administration has both very poor financial judgment and bad management practices that I will bring to an end. The citizens of this county deserve more transparency, accountability, and better stewardship of taxpayer money.

Q: Only once, and only for one year, has the U.S. government been debt free. The year was 1835, Andrew Jackson was president and within two years the country fell into a depression. Do you think the county, which must operate with a balanced annual budget, should pay off all its debts? If not, what do you consider a manageable amount of borrowing?

A: The right question is not what amount of county debt is manageable, but whether the debt can be avoided in the first place. The amount of debt affects our credit rating and the competitiveness of our future bonds. I will bring a business perspective to budgeting that promotes lean, efficient government while maintaining services and paying down the debt. Keep in mind, a county cannot declare bankruptcy to avoid paying debt.

As a practical matter, the county cannot operate without incurring some debt, at least temporarily. Take SPLOST or example: it makes more sense financially to pave a stretch of road all at once rather than piecemeal as money comes in over time. That’s why governments issue general obligation and revenue bonds.

Even so, the best management practice is to consider constraints on borrowing just like a family budget. That means evaluating future revenue and expenditure with enough detail to have a clear idea of the necessary steps to insure a flow of funds deciding to borrow. This is why I have repeatedly said that I will have a detailed budget that will account for every dollar.

Q: All three candidates agree governments are not businesses, some necessary services might never generate revenue that a successful business would demand. What is the possibility of privatizing services, subcontracting all work, and allowing everything either pay its way or be scrapped?

A: First of all, this question assumes something that is not true.

I am the only candidate that believes business principles can be used to make government better for taxpayers. My opponents believe that government should not be run like a business. Businesses have to be efficient to maximize profit. Likewise, government should be efficient to minimize waste.

Privatization depends on what is best for taxpayers. Whether to privatize should be carefully thought out. Soon after I raised the issue of the landfill losing money, I saw a small ad in the paper about the landfill being up for sale. Apparently, Commissioner Heiskell made her decision to sell the landfill not based on an evaluation of whether it could be profitable, but because it was an election liability. Unlike the current administration, I will make decisions on what is best for the county, not politics.

Lastly, the county should not create businesses that will compete with small business owners, such as Mountain Cove Farms.