OPINION: Moving forward

The decision by Commissioners last week to hire Roger Ledbetter as the incoming County Road Engineer means the implementation of the Unit Road System for county public works can move forward.

This will be a big plus for Titus County in the long run. It is a more efficient and organized way to maintain and repair roads.

Some commissioners had to be dragged screaming and kicking to the river. The taxpayers of Titus County were fortunate that the state law that provides for the establishment of the Unit Road System allows them to place the referendum on the ballot, and once approved, the county has no choice but to implement it.

Commissioner Mike Fields, rather than taking the high road and stating that it was an issue for the sovereign voters to decide, campaigned loudly and actively against the referendum. A long-time commissioner and Titus County native, he couldn’t see what is in the best interests of the county as a whole, and exhibited the tunnel vision so common with the Ol’ Boys in local government.

People like Fields had to be hit over the head with the ballot box to be made to realize the county belongs to everyone, and not just the BIMPS and Ol’ Boys and Gals.

As the implementation process began, there was a great deal of distrust among some people that Fields and other commissioners who get button-holed and browbeaten by friends and family members would somehow sabotage the whole process.

This started to verge on paranoia – it would be hard to see how something approved by an election referendum could be stymied – and in the end there were excellent applicants and a fine choice was made.

Roger Ledbetter worked as the local engineer for TxDOT for many years. He’s got excellent credentials, and as someone taking the post as a second job following retirement, he’s not someone who would be prone to empire building and patronage hustling.

Let’s be honest people – in Mount Pleasant, government employment is a full-employment racket for Ol’ Boys and BIMPS. That’s the main reason public education is so bad – all the teachers are hired because of nepotism, and know they don’t have to work and they can’t be fired.

There are not as many employees on the county’s payroll, but it’s still always going to have tendency for it to be used to hire deadbeat brother-in-laws.

The professionalism we expect from Ledbetter should keep that in check, and the efficiency of having one coordinated public works system – instead of four petty little personal kingdoms – should produce greatly appreciated savings in a few short years.

Despite all the huffing and puffing, it seems to be so far so good.