Not Business As Usual

After more than a week of acrimony over questions regarding the County Mayor's spending habits, Thursday's Commission meeting was a quiet, low-key affair, with very little conversation and a quick yes vote on the budget.

Mayor Ragsdale says he met individually with many of the Commissioners, explaining his budget and his office's spending;and that apparently went a long way in bringing civility to the proceedings.

He also changed some of his office's spending policies and removed the "travel pay" supplements for his top aides from the budget. Commission Chairman Scott Moore had drawn a very firm line in the sand on that issue.

So now we have a budget and government moves forward. But let's hope it's not business as usual.

Let's hope the Mayor, his staff, county employees who hold county credit cards and Commissioners all realize that their spending of taxpayer dollars are being watched closely. And not just by the County Auditor, but also by us taxpayers.

All politicians, even the best of them, need to be reminded from time to time, that it's not their money they're spending, it's ours.

Charging taxpayers for a 7-dollar smoothie or allowing a county employee to charge a cruise on the county credit card (even if it's paid back) is not acceptable.