We would keep our present county commissioners to handle the business affairs of the county, and we would also be required to hire what would in all probability be the highest paid individual on the Fannin County payrolls.
Now I would guess the perfect candidate to manage such an operation would likely be a heavily experienced, university educated, civil engineer with a sterling background in the business of road building and maintenance. Maybe something over a couple of hundred thousand dollars every year would cover his position.
When hired, he may well want to upgrade the educational requirements of our existing county precinct workforce. That is if he chooses to retain them at all, or maybe he will just let them go and hire new employees altogether, even with the nightmare of expenses that could entail.
On top of this he would need a new centralized road maintenance facility that could rival that of the TxDOT facilities on Hwy. 78 North, and with about as many rows of new equipment (maybe even more). Again this would require staffing with highly qualified heavy-equipment mechanics, diesel engine mechanics, and their support staff.
A facility of this scope would not be the economical operation that our county is used to. Far far from it. Only one new rock truck and trailer could easily run upwards of $250,000.00 to $300,000.00. Multiply that out and add the many backhoes at $200,000.00 each, wheel loaders at $250,000.00 each, road graders at $500,000.00 each, tree trimmers and mulchers at $50,000 each, and the miscellaneous items at who knows what! And when you add the infinite number of new pickup trucks it’s pretty easy to come up with ten million or more. When you add the cost of the new facility at about ten or twelve million, well, twenty two million is only about the cost of a new Justice Center, so I can see where Lawyer Newt would call it a bargain. He seemed to think this was the only way to go and wanted a petition circulated to put it to a vote.
As I said earlier not everyone was polished in their presentations, but let no one be misled, Lawyer Newt was smooth. He was so smooth, he seemed to me to be rather oily.
HE WANTS HIS WAY, and as we all know he doesn’t mind demanding it.
A bright spot in the presentations of the candidates occurred when H. Compton stated unequivocally that he was NOT A LAWYER. I thought this was a breath of fresh air as most of us have known all along that this position requires a person who has some business sense and some public management experience. What we are selecting is not someone to try cases but someone who can manage our business affairs, and can do that without offending everyone in sight.
Yes, Lawyer Newt, we need to present a pleasant image to those who are looking to move their business here, make their home here, or are just vacationing, and passing through our county. and may even choose to stay in one of our camper sites. That in itself, judge Cunningham, doesn’t automatically place them in your publicized category of drug dealers and prostitutes.
