It appears county commissioners listened to residents when it came to how rezoning would impact their community. 

That is responsive government. 

We elect people to office to represent us.

In a representative form of government the interests of the governed should be paramount. 

When concerned residents such as Elton Redding and Brad Folsom address elected representatives, they should be able to walk into the room with the assurance that they will be taken seriously and their concerns will be heard. 

In this case, it appears that is exactly what happened. 

Redding and Folsom did exactly what concerned residents should do. When developers sought to rezone property located along Miller Bridge Road from Estate-Agriculture to Residential Agriculture to make possible the development an 11-lot subdivision, they showed up, spoke up and were heard.

Of course, there are times when elected officials must not allow their decisions for the good of the entire jurisdiction to be unduly influenced by a loud minority of constituents. 

However, leaders should always listen. 

In this case, not only did commissioners listen but they also asked good questions. 

Commissioner Scott Orenstein stood up for residents and wanted more details about exactly what developers were planning.  

Again, that is good governance. 

All of this, does however, beg a question. Where was representative government when the county agreed to pay $500,000 for a piece of property near Moody Air Force Base without disclosing any plans for what will be done with that land?

As we said at the time, we absolutely understand the need for a buffer zone around Moody Air Force Base, and we think county government should support Moody in real and meaningful ways.

All we asked of county leaders is to plainly tell the people of Lowndes County why they purchased the property now. Why did they allow developers to improve the land in the first place if it was needed as buffer zone around Moody and why did they pay half a million dollars? 

As we said, the Georgia Open Meetings Act does allow the terms of a property transactions to be discussed behind closed doors, but that does not mean that anything related to that transaction has to be kept secret.

If you just tell people the whole truth, they will likely understand. 

We appeal to our county commissioners to take a few moments to think about the difference between how this rezoning request played out before the public in contrast to how the $500,000 purchase of land near Moody Air Force Base played out. 

This rezoning process was open, transparent and responsive. The $500,000 land purchase was not.  

Openness and transparency are always good public policy.