Opinion - For Fulton’s sake, downsize county government

The conservative call for smaller government and less spending is so constant that it can often seem like white noise. But there’s one political jurisdiction in metro Atlanta where downsizing is an urgent necessity. Not just to ease the burden on taxpayers — although that’s certainly reason enough — but to preserve the government entity itself.

Near the end of August, the Fulton County Commission voted 5-2 to spend $5 million to build an “aviation museum” near Charlie Brown Field, the county-owned commercial airstrip west of Atlanta. Granted, the project will likely be more of an exhibit hall attached to a neighborhood community center. But the money for the facility was carved out of a $26 million bond package intended to fund much-needed capital repairs and courthouse security.

The whole enterprise reeks of pork-barrel spending, which is nothing new for Fulton commissioners. What is new is that, since most of Fulton’s residents now live within cities, the county isn’t as flush as it once was. But it’s still spending as if it were.

Over the past few years, while other municipalities were laying off workers and tightening their belts, Fulton has blown through $100 million in reserves so that its elected leaders wouldn’t have to make tough decisions about how to shrink the county government to match its diminished scope of services and responsibilities. I don’t pretend to know exactly where the county should cut, but I’m convinced that county leaders are doing a disservice to taxpayers by not seriously considering how to restructure Fulton government in the wake of the new cities.

Not only is this situation unsustainable financially, but it’s dangerous politically. Spending $5 million on a proposed Fulton County Aviation Cultural Center that few will visit in a corner of the county filled with warehouses and industrial parks is simply giving ammunition to the Milton County separatists. Hell, it’s like loading the magazine and switching off the safety. Such actions are also a slap in the face to those of us who believe splitting Fulton in two is a terrible idea.

Here’s a suggestion: Take $1 million of that funding and commission a full-scale review of county government that considers how many employees are needed, what services should be offered, how county funds should be reallocated and, importantly, how commission districts can be consolidated.

Sadly, the current board members are more interested in protecting their political turf than in doing what’s best for the county as a whole. If they keep it up, Fulton won’t remain whole much longer.