Discussion held on proposed Walker County form of government change

WALKER COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) – Since 1992, Dade County has operated with five commissioners.

That includes a Chairman.

“You can keep more informed for your county because those people, they have that person in their community they can call,” Dade County Commission Chairman Ted Rumley said.

“You have more eyes looking at every issue. You have more ears listening to people then too, and to me that is one of the greatest things,” Dade County District 3 Commissioner Robert Goff said.

It was that board of commissioners type of government that was the topic of discussion at a meeting at Ridgeland High School Tuesday.

“I would just tell the people of Walker County you know when those people go to campaign for that, one of your cons is you get people with an axe to grind of some kind and they go in with that attitude that I’m here, but they have to love the county and I believe that the people here do,” Commissioner Goff said.

Dade County’s government was looked at as a model to what Walker County could become.

Residents will soon be able to vote for or against a board of commissioners style of government instead of having a sole commissioner.

A board of commissioners would consist of one full-time chairman and four part-time commissioners, like Dade County.

The four commissioners would make 12,000 dollars a year for four districts in Rossville, Lookout Mountain, Lafayette, and Chickamauga.

The question of having a board of commissioners was on the ballot a couple years ago as a straw poll. It passed overwhelmingly and that got the ball rolling to let voters actually take a vote on it.

“In the new form of government that we’re proposing there will be checks and balances. There will be accountability and there will be more participation by citizens. Where in the sole commissioner government, one person decides everything,” Walker County Republican Party Chairman Michael Cameron said.

A sole commissioner county government is a rare form in not just Georgia, but the United States.

Georgia is the only state that has that type of government and there’s currently around eight sole commissioners within its 159 counties.

“Under the new proposed form of government there’s a 25,000 dollar limit on the chairman of the board of commissioners that they can spend with out getting approval from the rest of the commission. So we think that that is a definite plus,” Cameron said.

If approved, voters will be able to elect their new commissioners in two years.

The change in form of government question will be on the November ballot.