By Jonathan Copsey / STAFF

Fulton County at your service? That’s what County Commission Chairman John Eaves would like his residents to know. Also that the County is doing a pretty good job.

Wednesday night, Eaves visited Alpharetta High School as the first in a series of stops on his “listening tour” of the county, promoting the good the county is doing for its taxpayers as well as hearing any complaints and criticism that can be addressed.

“This is an opportunity for me as commissioner at-large to listen to any concerns that residents have about the services the county provides,” said Eaves. “We are always ready and open and willing to listen to any constructive criticism… There’s always room for improvement.”

To back him up, the at-large commissioner brought with him the heads of county government to explain recent activity and show a little of upcoming work, including what new services will be available at the North Fulton annex which is currently undergoing extensive renovations.

At the heart of his presentation – and largely those of the department heads – was that the county is looking to stand out on the services it offers its taxpayers. Water and sewage, workforce help and training, senior services and libraries are to give the people of the county that warm feeling that comes from knowing their government is well-run. All county employees have even undergone customer service training to better interact with people who need help.      

“Government has one thing to offer: services,” said County Manager Zachary Williams. “And if you mean it, you measure it.” To that end, Williams and his government is implementing business plans to track the progress from current services to future goals. The progress is expected to be online and easily accessible so that everyone can see how effective each department is. To further help the accessibility issue, the county commissioners may soon begin holding their meetings around the county, instead of downtown, so that, in essence, the government is coming to the citizens instead of vice versa.

Another piece of good news for the county, and especially North Fulton, is that the libraries are coming soon. Three new libraries are to be built in the area, according to John Szabo, the Library Director; one each in Milton, Alpharetta and East Roswell. Despite the fact that North Fulton had to aggressively lobby for these libraries which were not in the original plans last year, the County is proud of the fact that they listened to the concerns of its people and acted on those concerns.

Double Trouble

Of course, no discussion of Fulton County and North Fulton can be had without touching on two titanic issues: transportation and Milton County.

“Why is one of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the country so mass-transit proof?” asked one man, a question which had many in the audience nodding.

Eaves had two answers to this, neither of which was incredibly encouraging. First, he explained “Concept 3,” a plan to expand MARTA outside of Fulton County, into the metro region. As interesting as that might be, it does not really help those in North Fulton who have to drive to catch a train or a bus.

The second point was that, despite the backing of the commission, MARTA is woefully under funded.

“Marta is the 9th largest transit system in the country,” said Eaves, “however it is the only one in the top ten that does not receive any state support,” either from the state in terms of funding or from the state legislature in terms of general support, as shown by this session’s lack of any transportation funding and funding for the mass transit provider.

Milton County was an equally touchy subject, with Eaves pleading for reconciliation.

“Why not have dialogue and listen and improve what we have instead of creating something new and additional that will introduce another level of bureaucracy in this region?” Eaves said. “…There’s a lot of misconception about what the county government provides.”

Eaves further argued that Florida has only 67 counties yet a larger population than Georgia with its 159 counties. According to the commissioner, this difference allows Georgians to have a much more local government that reacts to issues faster than comparable states. To add more government by creating Milton County would just add cost to taxpayers, which could add up to $1 billion, Eaves said.

“Why should we introduce another level of government?” he asked. “It’s my hope that we should address whatever issues there are and provide accurate information about the county and the services the county offers. In my opinion we are the best-run county, the most vibrant in the state.”