Panel looks for ways to save taxpayers' money

Last week, the Georgetown County Council referred to our administration and finance committee my proposal for establishing a Management, Accountability and Performance Commission for Georgetown County. This would be modeled after the Governor's Commission on Management, Accountability and Performance, which Gov. Mark Sanford established last year. In his executive order, Sanford established the state MAP commission to "determine ways in which government systems and services can be made more productive, more efficient and less costly, while providing an emphasis on customer satisfaction and productivity." The governor's commission would "propose changes which will reduce costs, increase accountability, improve service, consolidate similar functions, return functions to the private sector and help South Carolina be more competitive in the world economy."

The plan would be for our Georgetown County MAP commission to mirror what was done at the state level. We found out at our planning session last week that we are facing a deficit, which County Council is going to have to tackle. There are two ways to approach the problem. One is to raise taxes. The other is to look at how Georgetown County might be able to operate in a more efficient way by reducing expenses and costs and not raising taxes. That certainly is the approach I favor and is the approach Sanford has taken on the state level.

At our meeting, we were fortunate to have two of the state MAP commission members, Carl O. Falk, president of Falk-Griffin Foundation, and Floyd L. Keels, president and chief executive officer of Santee Electric Cooperative, address the council. Both men were enthusiastic about what we might achieve at the county level. They have also offered to assist Georgetown County in setting up a local commission. We envision that the committee would be made up of area business leaders who have an interest in seeing that county government operates as efficiently as possible. The commission would examine all aspects of county spending, including elected offices and the courts system.

One key element of the governor's commission was a survey taken of residents and a citizen focus group, which identified areas in which government needed improvement. I believe Georgetown County Council will support maximum citizen input to make sure we provide the best possible services for the dollar.

We have a proposed budget for next year of approximately $48 million. If we subtract debt service and capital outlay (which total about $11 million) we have $37 million worth of spending on the county level for the commission to examine. If we can achieve a savings of roughly 4 percent through the commission's recommendations, we should be able to balance the budget without any tax increases or layoffs.

County Council and our administrator, Tommy Edwards, have embraced this proposal. We are in the process of formulating the makeup of the commission. Any citizens who would be interested in serving may contact our clerk to council, Teresa Floyd, at 545-3058 to get an application. I firmly believe that working together, we will be able to deliver high-quality service to the people of Georgetown County in an efficient, cost-effective manner, without raising taxes.