The 15-member Crime Prevention Commission was mayor-only appointed. The mayor’s campaign manager chaired the commission with the mayor’s assistant, also a campaign team member, serving as a liaison. Now the mayor wants a mayor-only appointed 7-member board, drawn from the cast of the original 15, which will work with the Office of Crime Prevention director, no doubt a director the mayor directly or indirectly will select. The director’s salary will be $63,208.00, the office’s budget around $1-2 million.
Mayor Wetherington insists the new office and director come under the mayor, though the office is not law enforcement. The mayor and commission chair argue that if all is not structured exactly as they suggest, the office will fail. The chairman outright opposes an 11-member mayor-council appointed board. Mayor Wetherington is so determined to have things his way he has threatened to pull the plug altogether on the office, which in itself speaks volumes
Columbus has a weak mayor/strong city manager form of consolidated government. Mayor Wetherington, or any mayor for that matter, pretty much having complete autonomy in creating another level of bureaucracy and dictating how it is all set up is contrary to our present system of government.
If the new board and director can achieve successful goals under the mayor, it can do the same under a competent city manager and assistants. The city manager is an appointed official. Having an office under an elected official with a $1-2 million budget dispensing funding to local groups and organizations is a recipe for political corruption. Council would be sanctioning a political action committee for whoever the mayor would be. If council indeed fears boards or commissions becoming political, your worst nightmare is just about six votes away if you don’t take preventative measures up front.
C.A. Hardmon
Columbus
In mayor’s corner
I am so tired of everyone criticizing Mayor Wetherington because he wants to create a Crime Prevention position. You have an honest and caring person as mayor, and he would not try and create a worthless position because he is not that type of person.
I am no close personal friend, although I did work under him for some time and he has earned the respect of most people in Public Safety over his many years of service. If Jim Wetherington thinks this position would be an asset to your community you need to listen to him, as he only wants what is best for Columbus, Georgia, and public safety. I, for one, applaud him for the great job he has done as mayor and for his wonderful service to the Public Safety departments.
Larry Lawson
Columbus
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