In a marathon final meeting on the Rockdale County budget, Chairman Richard Oden and Commissioner Oz Nesbitt failed miserably in their elected responsibility to insure that the citizens of Rockdale County were not going to be held responsible to pay for a budget that they could ill afford for in 2011. There is no excuse for these two commissioners to foist a budget on the taxpaying folks of Rockdale County that included an increase for next year.

We are sure that almost every household and business in this county has looked at their budget and is going without something for next year in order to survive.

These two commissioners should have looked at this budget and treated as if it was their own business they were trying to operate; they did not.

Finding cuts in funding for nonprofits was a start, but it was also too little too late.

With the revenue projections being so unsure, it’s better to be too cautious than spend too much and have to come back to the taxpayers next year for another millage rate increase.

The taxpayers are not a bottomless piggybank.

We are more than disappointed in the votes of Commissioners Oden and Nesbitt. If we were grading they both would receive an F minus in fiscal responsibility.

The taxpayers of this county should loudly let them know that they are disappointed in their management of the budget.

However, we commend Commissioner Nesbitt for abstaining from voting on the nonprofit funding to avoid a conflict of interest. Anything that can be done to increase voter trust, even if it is just avoiding the appearance of a conflict of interest, would be a welcome move for the community.