From: Dennis Baute
Columbus
As we mail our ballots, or enter the voting booth this fall, perhaps we should ask the following questions regarding our local candidates for county offices:
Are our county pension programs adequately funded? When was the county landfill contract last competitively quoted? Do we know where our county tax money is coming from? Are our county taxes being efficiently spent?
Why are county commissioner’s districts gerrymandered into one district by population? Should part-time elected officials be eligible for health insurance? Do we need to re-elect county candidates who have been in office for decades? Are we taking county residency requirements seriously?
Would meetings and information be more transparent if the county made videos like the city? Are we happy with long-term, one-party control of county government? Do we have a longer term county financial plan dealing with the economic downturn already under way?
Some may think our county government is performing at optimal levels. Maybe it is, maybe it’s not. We should ask ourselves these questions and more before casting our votes. Good government needs knowledgeable voters.
