Ballot puts roads on trial in Titus County

The Pope’s a Catholic, there are trees in the forest and three out of four Titus County Commissioners oppose the Unit Road System voted in two years ago and on the November ballot again. Employing a new County Road Engineer, the Unit System consolidates the roadwork of four precincts into a single-office operation.

The underlying issue is the $90,000 salary and benefit package for public servants voters relieved of day to day responsibility for road operations.
“If the Unit System prevails, we have hard decisions to make concerning the changing roll of the commissioners,” Judge Brian Lee said. “Whichever position wins out, I want to see us adopt the positive attributes of the losing position and integrate that into the winning proposition.”
There are positive elements on either side of opposing positions, he said.
“In the commissioner-run day to day operation, there’s interaction between citizens and elected officials directly accountable to voters,” Judge Lee said. “Conversely, the Unit System provides a county-wide global perspective that has advantages. It allows for better utilization of equipment and a systematic approach.”

Former County Judge Alford Flanagan backed the petition drive putting the issue back on the ballot and spoke in favor of returning authority to commissioners at a Tri-County Press forum organized by Publisher Sonya Woods.
The only elected official publicly siding with the watchdog group Citizens for Better Government, Precinct 1 Commissioner Al Riddle defended the system voters approved in the last elections.

“The old way goes back to the horse and wagon days when voters depended on the work of a commissioner who lived in his precinct and had a good team of mules,” Commissioner Riddle said. Once named by the Journal as the county’s only “half price commissioner,” Al Riddle took office with a first-term campaign promise to work for half his budgeted salary. On the court, he has opposed the commissioners’ $15,600 automatic travel allowance and lobbied for payment based on miles traveled.

Midway into his second term, Commissioner Riddle’s consistently losing votes against budgets increasing salaries meet continued opposition.
Both sides have expressed concern for the ballot wording. A vote “for” is for throwing out the unit system. A vote “against” is for keeping it.
Opponents of the Unit System bemoan the cost per mile of county roads wholly reconstructed under direction of retired TxDOT engineer Roger Ledbetter, the first-hired county engineer. Proponents argue the long-term economy of durable roads reducing the cost of maintenance.