Commissioner’s Report – Perception

Perception

What is your perception of where our local economy is, at this point in time? Our perception can, to a large degree, determine the decisions we make and the actions we take.The down turn in our economy has hurt a large number of people in Gilmer County during the last three to four years and it continues to do so. There are certain types of businesses which were affected more than others. Some of these it may take a long period of time to recover and some of them will never get back to the point where they were. Other types of business in our community have been affected very little. If any portion of our community is effected by the slow down it will, to some degree, effect our whole economy.
This extended down turn has had a hugh effect on our School System as well as our County Government. This is partly because of local tax revenue and partly because of revenue lost from state and federal sources. Our county government is in an extremely tight financial position but we are slowly working our way through our problems and with careful planning, a serious thought process and good decisions we will come through these problems a much stronger county than we have been in many years.
We now have in hand budget results through February 2011 and they are good. The total for all the seventy four items on the budget show all departments but four within our budget spending limits. This is a good indication of where we are going and if we can change the perception of where we are it will, I believe, be very helpful for our recovery here in Gilmer county. If we work together and encourage others to help we all benefit.
You can reach me at 706-635-4361 or via email link JC Sanford

P.S. Please, if you are aware of wrong doing in our county let it be known.