By Kathy Chaffin
kchaffin@salisburypost.com
County Commissioner Jim Sides said he would like to see an efficiency committee started three years ago by the Rowan County Department of Social Services implemented in other county departments.
Sides, who represents the county commissioners on the Board of Social Services, said the committee tries to come up with ways to save money within the department. “This is an extremely good idea,” he said.
Rising gas prices are starting to affect middle-income families, he said, especially now that gas prices are driving up other costs. “It’s sort of a domino effect,” he said at Tuesday’s Board of Social Services meeting. “Groceries are just astronomical, and people are beginning to see that.”
Even though Social Services employees may be feeling the greatest impact of the poor economy because of increased applications for public assistance programs, Sides said other departments are affected, too. The planning and permit departments, for example, have less work because people are building less.
Ultimately, he said, less new construction will have a detrimental effect on the county tax base, making it even more important to “look at ways to cut back and save money.”
The efficiency committee was one of the goals outlined in the department’s annual Leading by Results report a few years back.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, board members re-elected Dr. Nilous Avery as chairman and Carl Ford as vice chairman. “Thank you so much for your confidence,” Avery said.