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RSS FeedDo you think the Sangamon County Board should be reduced from 29 to 15 members, as suggested in an advisory referendum on Tuesday's election ballot?
Results so far:
| Yes | 68% | 15 votes | Total: 22 votes | |
| No | 32% | 7 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesGovernment reform is needed when money is not coming in as fast as it is going out. All over the state of Illinois people are losing jobs, because of the current economic stature. It only seems fair that everyone should pinch in when times are hard. That includes the members of the Sangamon County Board.
29 to 15 seems like it is a lot when you are cutting half of the committee but when you are saving money for the people that these officials are representing for then I do not understand what the problem is. Of course the members of the board are upset because 15 people have to do the job of 29 but these guys are not exactly trying to fix worldly issues. There has to be a cut somewhere if your trying to create more money to put back into the states economy. With more money going to other places including education, health care and even back into the rural farmers of Illinois then isn't that better for all of us.
There has to be sacrifice if change can occur. Cutting jobs is always the last resort but when the result favors everyone as a whole then I say lets do it. Now I do believe those 15 remaining members need to still show a diverse and accurate ideology of its people they represent because that is important not to forget those that need a voice. The selection of these fifteen members still has to be as professional and ethical and not based upon salary size or longevity of a current member.
Remember this as well these higher up officials are not exactly lacking friends in other interests. Most committee members you see in our local governemtns are popular within their own communities and are put in their place for a reason. You know their support group after their release from the Board will accommodate these fallen comrades and plug them in somewhere else. Perhaps with not as much authority or power but I am sure they will be on a payroll somewhere else. The fact is these people are not exactly going to the unemployment line tomorrow.
Finally it is a big mess, not just locally but all over our country and it really is up to this next election process and the candidates running that change be made. Not just nationally but within each state as well and if not we will all fall as hards as we did in the years of the Great Depression. The way we got out of all that mess was the result of inspiring leadership from the federal government, empathy for those in need and a stronger support system within our states to solve the problems at hand.
Learn more about this author, Kenneth Hofmann.
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No
Reducing the size of the membership of the Sangamon County Board is an exercise in reducing the level of representation with no apparent benefit to the citizens of the County. Politics aside, it is obvious that representation will be reduced under the false idea that you are saving money or reducing the size of government. The net effect of redrawing the "new" districts will be to cut minority representation in half AND reduce representation of members in rural districts.
Further, rural districts resulting from a re-drawn map would sprawl across multiple communities. Where key rural issues such as land-use and zoning come up, it's the board member's input in how that community views that parcel of land that helps the other board members understand the community's concern. If the district balloons across multiple communities, some of that close knowledge is lost in the process.
At this point, any reduction will place too much power into the fewer hands: municipal members will have undue influence over rural concerns. As it sits now, the districts represent their neighborhoods and communities effectively. If the aim here is to lean toward metro government, that is a different question altogether.
There is a huge difference between efficient government and reducing your democratic representation. County government has been effective in reducing head-count, combining departments, staying within budget. This is efficient smaller government.
So, here are the reasons for why this is a bad idea.and it directly effects you and the whole county.
Adequate Representation: The current board is set up for maximum representation for the neighborhoods/commun ities served. The current districts are drawn close enough to represent citizens for effective listening and respondsponsiveness.
Reducing the county board will NOT save money. The purported savings assume that board members representing 13,000 citizens would be paid the same as county board members representing 6500 citizens. But in every comparable county with districts of 13,000 or more citizens the county board members are paid more than twice as much as Sangamon 's Board. Springfield's Aldermen represent roughly this many people and receive more than $12,000 annually.
Given the previous point, even if the members do not receive additional pay, it is likely that additional staff would be needed to facilitate the additional workload.
Learn more about this author, Alexander Hamilton.
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