Rick Pettit, Treasurer: I’d like to confirm everything that Sheriff Heap and Clerk and Recorder Dallas Schroeder have said. My concern is that it’s been a dysfunctional board for quite a while. We’re not accomplishing anything. I agree and think we are moving backwards and not forward because no one can come to a compromise or whatever and I think this has gone beyond personnel and whether you can work with them or not. I just think that there are too many personal agendas that are going on. People are doing things behind closed doors and the one thing is I don’t have any political agenda or anything like that. And I think anybody elected to any public offices especially at the county level is that if they do have a political agenda is they are the wrong person to be in office. Originally, when Commissioner Rowland and Ross, before they took office or before they were elected they sat down with me and we had a discussion on where we thought we should go, and everything. And, during those meetings I told both of them that if either one of them ever lied to me or that I couldn’t trust them, that they were done with me. And as far as I am concerned, Commissioner Ross, you haven’t been straightforward with the county or anything like that. So that’s my position. And I agree, and I think this board needs changes and I ask for the resignation of Commissioner Dore and Commissioner Ross.

Keith Westfall, County Surveyor: I’ve witnessed it also, personally, that you guys have just gotten in the middle of things that you just shouldn’t have been in the middle of. And, it has adversely affected this county in ways in shouldn’t have. I agree, I vote for them to step down. For the betterment of Elbert County, please step down. Do the county a favor, please step down. Thank you.

Kyrei Zion, Finance Department: With three years under my belt as an employee of Elbert County, I am understanding more and more about the less than desirable history that has defined this county especially in the financial arena. Wow, isn’t the explicit word that comes to mind. If you sadly have the perpetually negative views of the small group of naysayers that Elbert County will never get it right, first let me say, “Shame on you.” Second, let me enlighten you to just a few things that wow me about this county. In 2014 the audited ending fund balance in the General Fund was over $720,000. The projected annual fund balance for Fund 15 is over $1.1 million. Only great leadership that encourages us, and even demands sound business decisions, improved fiscal responsibility for each and every department and without the department heads respect of this leadership could we have achieved such incredible ground. So, there we are in such a financial spiral downward in2009 and the bond in the pipeline to be refinanced. So long as the people elected to protect us and the financial stability of this county do not maliciously destruct this positive step forward for Elbert County we are in the position to save nearly $1.4 million in interest over the life of this bond. Attention taxpayers that is 1.4 million dollars of your money that we are trying to save. We have amazing employees in this county. In every department you will find dedicated hardworking folks. Could many of us drive into town and make more money? Sure. We choose to work here. Most of us live here and a good number of us are natives of Elbert County. The organization succeeds because of the great leadership at the top. That is what we have here in Elbert County. Ed Ehmann and Wade Gateley have embodied leadership in this county for the last few years. We have thrived and we have succeeded. Iam ?? in that position to be in. If you are fooled by one or two negative employees, shame on you. Finances are becoming successful, morale is high, we have worked in here and we genuinely love this county. To seek to destroy that is unfathomable. On the table today is a proposal to hire a law firm that brings with it a $475/hour fee. Let’s call the spade the spade. Hire them, get rid of Wade. I am confident and extremely fearful that you intend to hang and butcher Ed in the same manner as you are doing to Wade today.

Let’s do a little math. Wade is paid based on a 156 hour annual salary. However, I can tell you first hand that Wade puts in many more hours than that. If you have this law firm try to do what Wade is doing right now, we are talking somewhere between $800,000 and $1million/year. So much for the fiscal responsibility that the commissioners have preached. With the expected great projected ending fund balances in 2015 we had great hopes of putting the desperately needed employees back into the departments that had requested them for the 2016 budget. So much for that. Together we stand, divided we fall. You are dividing us today. If you succeed, we will fall and this county will fail.

Dianna Hiatt, Personnel Benefits Coordinator: Integrity is defined as doing the right thing for the right reason. Look at all the right reasons standing before you today. Ask a commissioner to get in touch with what is happening in Elbert County. Talk to the employees that work here every day. Talk to the road and bridge guys who are out taking care of roads so citizens can safely travel. They’ve been working 36 hours straight on this snow storm but they are here because it matters. Talk to the sheriff’s deputies who are patrolling and responding to the needs of our citizens. Talk to the assessor’s office staff about their volume and their concerns in meeting them. Talk to the employees in motor vehicle, clerk, elections, and the treasurer’s offices who provide our customers service every day. They know what’s going on. Talk to the Health and Human Services department about families who are struggling in this county that can’t even put food on their tables. Talk to the Building and Planning Department about the volume of activity they are dealing with. Talk to the Office of Emergency Management about all the hard work county employees have been doing as a result of the heavy rains we experienced this spring and the inaudible….FEMA grant. Talk to the IT staff about the growing needs of every department. Talk to security personnel and ? about fairgrounds needs. Talk to the county manager and the county attorney who keep the best interest of the county employees at the top of their everyday list. When you make a decision that costs the county nearly half a million dollars, consider what that funding could be used for to benefit the county and the county employees. Three dollars per hour increase that could be given to every single employee for less than $450/hour. The offices that are not getting the staff they need to effectively do their jobs. The employees will not get that raise, again. The deputy who is on Medicaid because his salary is so low he qualifies and can get no other coverage for his family. The benefits you could increase for our employees who cannot afford insurance for their families. The road improvements that could be funded so the people that are stranded at their homes today because we don’t have the equipment and the personnel to get them out. The public safety that could be provided by Ed and more sheriff’s office personnel. Talk and listen to what the employees have to say. These employees, these departments, these people are our team. They are committed to working hard every day to provide services to our citizens and to provide for their families. Elbert County employees are your greatest resource. These are the people who make it happen. These are the people who care about Elbert County. These are the people who are in contact with Elbert County citizens every single day. These are the people you should be concerned about. Thank you.

Johanna Sanders, Elbert County Finance Office: Commissioners, I have been a resident in the county and an employee for this county for over six years. I have seen how a dysfunctional board can not only exist to harm the county but also how their political agenda, contacts, and interactions play a huge hand in employee morale, which then directly impacts the services being provided to the taxpayers. In November 2013, the county commissioners were called out for their behavior in a survey where they were quoted as dysfunctional, childish, broken, and poor, at best. It goes on to explain that ongoing disputes of the three county commissioners were creating a very dysfunctional situation and leadership at the commissioner level was non-existent. Although this was not related to this current BOCC, there is no denying that the chaos described in that survey does currently exist. Historically, that chaos that trickled down impacted the departments and the employee levels resulting in employee abuse, fraudulent activity, unnecessary litigation, delay and cost of audit, and overall distrust in the levels all over the county. However, thanks to the current leadership of the county manager and the county attorney the county has been moved on track. Because of their direct decisions, we now have an updated employee handbook to refer to; we have a purchasing, credit card and complaint policy as a guideline. Departments now meet on a regular basis to discuss, communicate, and better understand what impacts the overall needs and the strategies of all the departments involved. We are now more consistent and working as a more cohesive team, and for the first time since I have been here the county is not worried about its payments in January and February. I, as an employee, have seen the involvement and direction from both Ed and Wade and its positive benefits to the county All three of you commissioners preached fiscal responsibility during your campaigns. I have seen little to no genuine involvement or interest from you to try and understand or better the budget process for this year. Ed and Wade have directly been involved. They have assisted the finance office every step of the way to present you with a sound and balanced budget. The decisions you as a board have made and continue to make will have an impact on how this unfolds. I hope you can start working together professionally and set aside your political differences and agendas to keep the county from being derailed. The county employees are all being held accountable for their jobs and I believe the commissioners should follow suit. Thank you.