Shufflin' Off to Livingston County

The Swede Stays, I Go

"The times are changing, and the people need rearranging"

The Swede chose to remain in Monroe County. I had enough this time around, which is not to say a return is out of the question; rather, a stay in the country every now and then is good for my humours so to Livingston I retreated.

I settled down with Visions of Cody, the Black Keys Magic Potion and the State of Livingston County as delivered by James C. Merrick, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. A superfluous title indeed and I ached for my county executive:

. . . we have created a smaller, smarter more efficient government.

Cannot wait to see how he pulls this one off.

. . . smaller because of the downsizing . . . from 13 committees to three. Smarter because more Supervisors are involved in our . . . decision making process and more efficient because our fund balances are strong and have grown without any reduction in services.

Sweet merciful crap. The first two statements contradict each other, he says fewer committees=bad but more Supervisors=good, more people complicate the decision making process in one case while benefiting it in another; but the last sentence took me by surprise. I am not accustomed to seeing those words used together in that order.

The next five pages go on to list government programs and initiatives the County has undertaken in the past with costs, grants received, how those grants were applied and the impact of the program.

Detailed, fleshed out ideas undertaken in an organized manner and then promptly reported on to the public? Something must be wrong, budget numbers -

. . . the 2007 budget was approved with a property tax rate of $7.07 per thousand, a decrease of 16% [from 2006].

Funding for highway and bridge projects is increased by 14%. The budget has a $3.5 million surplus which will be applied to capital projects "thus avoiding future debt service payments."

The County's Constitutional Tax margin dropped from 52% to 45% and Medicaid savings of $880,000 are expected. Livingston actually made money through the sale of fifteen parcels of land.

The remaining pages detail economic development initiatives, a bullet-point list of objectives for 2007 and graphs detailing budget numbers.

I can get used to this, my Leinenkugels is in short supply but there is plenty of the High Life until I can replenish.

With that the Water Buffalo Press stretches two counties, anyone interested in covering his or her own county feel free to contact the WBP.