Unit Versus Beat Is Critical Turning Point For Our County

Dear Editor,
Unit versus Beat—the outcome will be a critical turning point in Yalobusha County’s future. For me, the Unit system is the better way to vote.
Why? First, with the Unit system you have a trained, experienced professional road manager, hired and monitored by the supervisors and an administrator, running a county-wide road system and reporting on all expenses. Compare that with the Beat system: five supervisors (none of whom are highway construc-tion/maintenance professionals) managing five separate road crews and answering to themselves. They split the money by formula and spend it in their own districts—regardless of the most urgent overall needs for the county.
Second is graveling and maintaining private roads. Yes, we have honest Supervisors. Now. But gravel-for-votes, or “taking care of my people,” is a time-honored Beat system tradition in this state, and who’s to say who will be in office a few years down the road. Illegal “roadwork”—not just the gravel, but the man-hours, fuel, equipment wear-and-tear—is paid by all the people who don’t have their driveways graveled. Also, it is illegal (http://www2  .osa.ms.gov/forum/showthread.php?1459-May-a-county-Supervisor-or-road-department-place-and-spread-gravel-on-a-private-citizen%92s-driveway).
Third, the cost of buying and maintaining five separate sets of equipment is considerably higher than having one set of equipment to serve the entire county. Switching to Unit will reduce equipment, repairs, and fuel and materials costs—some estimates are 20 percent. These are basic economies of scale.
Fourth, is skills. Our supervisors and their crews are not road-building professionals. One supervisor told me “It ain’t rocket science.”
No? Well, Mississippi is #2 in the nation in highway deaths per thousand population (http://vehicle-fatalities.findthedata.com/). Yalobusha County has miles of road with trees and obstructions too close to the road edge, no shoulders, blind spots, poorly engineered curves, and other dangerous situations. A trained highway professional would begin the comeback. Road-management should be more than an endless cycle of filling potholes and fixing soft spots.
Fifth, with all due respect to our supervisors, they have better things to do with their time than fiddle with road patching—things like economic development and growing the county’s economy. Our incoming supervisors have good business skills. They don’t need to be bogged down deciding what stretch of road needs which potholes repaired. That’s why under the Unit system you hire a professional to deal with the roads.
Finally, the requirement that a supervisor honcho a road crew is a barrier to people who have other needed skills—business development, tourism development, financial management. Men and women with these qualifications might not know a backhoe from a trackhoe. But as long as hanging around the barn every morning talking roads and equipment is a prime supervisor duty, many qualified people are unlikely to run for office.
Bottom line, switching from the Beat to Unit system will result in savings to the taxpayer, better roads, and a Board of Supervisors that can turn its attention to the REAL growth, development, and revenue issues facing our County. Financially, practically, and ethically, the Unit system is best for the future of Yalobusha County.
Best regards,
Cliff Lawson