Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Bunker Gets Booed on a Testy Day at County Commission; UPDATE: Video of Sheriff Mark Luttrell's Testimony Against Employee Layoffs
Posted by Jackson Baker on Tue, May 12, 2009 at 1:51 AM
Shelby County Commissioner Wyatt Bunker thought he was getting off a little levity when he defended his opposition to a resolution calling for funding of the Southeast Shelby County library. But some passionate defenders of the library were not amused, and something rare indeed happened during Monday's consideration of possible budget cuts: boos from the audience.
Bunker's position was that he didn't oppose funding the library, just that he didn't think to do so required a special resolution. Rather than quitting while he was ahead, however, the conservative Republican member hazarded an ill-fated joke to the effect that library lovers might prefer that tax money went to restore threatened cuts in the Sheriff's budget, so as to avoid getting "mugged" at the library.
Not long after that piece of political theater (the resolution passed handily), the grim business of vetting 100 proposed employee layoffs — 31 of those in the selfsame Sheriff's Department — got under way. In the end the commission deferred action on the cuts, but there was more Sturm und Drang on the way to that result.
One of the highlights of the day was the lengthy, impassioned testimony of Sheriff Mark Luttrell against the prospect of losing 31 positions in planned employee layoffs:
The upshot of it all, after Luttrell and numerous other department heads had testified about the adverse effects of the planned layoffs? Commissioners ultimately deferred action, pending further review by the commission's budget committee.
In the meantime, county mayor A C Wharton had promised that, if it was "the will of the body," he would come up with a proposal for a tax increase instead. In the context of the day, that was less an offer than a calling of the commission's bluff.
Comments (7)
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I have gotten a lot out of libraries too; but didn't they start out as matters of private philanthropy? Now the taxpayer is indeed getting mugged for the money to fund something that is not, as Wyatt pointed out, a core function of government like law enforcement. Mobs aren't pretty, no matter how arguable their cause.
Examples of public libraries date back to the 3rd or 4th century BC depending on which source you choose. It's not mandated, but it is nice to have.
"I have often thought that nothing would do more extensive good at small expense than the establishment of a small circulating library in every county, to consist of a few well-chosen books, to be lent to the people of the country under regulations as would secure their safe return in due time." - Tommy J
I think that we need to look at the safety and security of the libraries in the county. CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) is an inexpensive approach at making these facilities safer.
http://www.maxsecure.org
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