SOME GALVESTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PROVE TO BE POSTER BOYS FOR CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT.. Shared from http://texasinsider.org

A perfect example of how Republicans can govern
By Jim Cardle
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas — Galveston County Texas had a sweep during the 2010 Election, replacing every Democrat who was opposed on the ballot. And then, it happened again in 2012, giving Republicans four solid conservatives on the Galveston County Commissioner’s Court.
As a result, the last 7 years in Galveston County have been a shining example of what can be accomplishedwhen true conservatives are in control at the local level.
How? Well, Galveston County Commissioners Court has set a Tax Rate that’s below the “Effective Rate” (the no new Tax Rate adjustment level,) each year. Yes, that means:

• Cutting the tax rate over 12% — to its lowest rate in 17 years — while at the same time
• Reducing the County’s Debt by 40%, and
• Earning Galveston County its first ever AAA Bond Rating, which just 9 of Texas’ 254 Counties have,
• Making it the only coastal county in Texas that is saving its taxpayers millions of dollars in interest.

They achieved this through eliminating wasteful spending in departmental budgets, and cutting staff by over 7%.
And Galveston County is the only local government, that I know of, that reduced the number of Elected Officials in the county, saving close to another $1.3 million in salaries of officials who worked only part-time while receiving full-time salaries.
Still other budget-saving examples were accomplished by developing partnerships with private industry and local faith-based non-profits to provide better services to the public — at a much lower cost to the taxpayers.
The county even took on the local liberal newspaper by putting out to bid the Public Notices Contract that had not been competitively put out for bid since the Civil War. The bidding process forced the county newspaper to come in at a more competitive rate, and saved the taxpayers more than $300,000.
After decades of failed liberal policies and leadership, Galveston County conservatives also re-evaluated its Property & Casualty Insurance Coverage, and guess what? They found that the previously-controlled Democrat County Government had been insuring buildings that no longer existed — and they’d done it for years at that.
The savings from this reform came close to $2 million dollars per year.
Galveston County Commissioners Court took those savings and put them into a Self-Insured Reserve Account, which created a greater County Fund Balance and helped earn Galveston County that money-saving AAA Bond Rating!
These achievements and tax-payer savings are attributable to one thing, and the Galveston County Voters should be thankful for it — the Conservative & Principled Leadership of the Galveston Commissioner’s Court Members who have upheld their Conservative Republican principles.
They include (from right-to-left):

• County Judge Mark Henry
• County Commissioner Ken Clark, and
• Former County Commissioner Kevin O’Brien

These Galveston County Commissioners are shining examples of what canhappen when Conservative Republicans are put in charge. They should be the Poster Boys for every other County Official across Texas.
It was their leadership that made these cost-cutting improvements possible for the taxpayers of Galveston County. Not only should they to be emulated, they should be used as examples of how government should be run, and congratulated for sticking to their conservative guns to allow taxpayers to keep their own money.
Yes, right here in Texas we have a perfect example of how Republicans can govern, showing Conservatives can make a difference.
Jim Cardle is founder & publisher of The Texas Insider, Texas’ leading online conservative website for over 13 years. His Texas Insider Radio Programcan be heard Saturdays from 12:30-1:30 on “Austin’s Talk 1370 – The Right Choice.”
(Disclosure: I’ve known Galveston County Commissioner Ken Clark for close to 20 years — and, thank goodness for his solid, conservative, and hard-working drive that continues to fight for limited government in Texas.)

---