Now, WALB is reporting that 20 people were notified today that they will not be continuing on after Phoebe takes over.  The reason was the whole “qualification” thing, which obviously has different meanings to different folks.  WALB doesn’t have specifics at this time, or at least hasn’t posted them to their website if it does.  Frankly though, this whole deal stinks and has from the start.

First, Lott isn’t sticking around.  That’s the good news.  While the end date is set for July 30, 2011, don’t be surprised to see him not working much, much sooner than that.

You see, the City Commission reportedly asked for Lott’s resignation Tuesday.  I seriously doubt they intend to let him sit there for a year and just be content he’s going away.  No, I suspect they’ll start looking at how to show him the door very soon.  One of two things will probably happen to do it though.

The first option is a Younger-like pay out that will put him out the door.  While this will cost the taxpayers money, I can’t really oppose it to much.  The reason being that paying that out will serve as a hedge against Lott’s screwing up in the future and may ultimately save a lot more money in the long run.  Not only that, but by accepting the pay out, Lott is then effectively barred from trying to file any kind of lawsuit or complaint against the city that would possible cost more money to defend.

The second option is that Lott go on some kind of leave until his resignation is effective.  Essentially, he’ll get paid for nothing for a year, which is essentially the same thing as paying him off.   The problem with this one is that I believe we can’t hire a new City Manager until July of next year, making it more difficult to move on after this episode.  Not only that, but he could still file complaints against the City of Albany that could tie the city up in litigation for some time and cost a lot of money.  While there’s plenty to complain about in Albany, there’s not really anything Lott can win with.

So now we sit, waiting on what the City will do with regard to Lott.  I suspect this will be on the agenda for the next meeting, and will be discussed at length.  We’ll see what, if anything, is decided.

The Albany Journal is currently reporting that the Albany City Commission is meeting privately. These may be the last moments of Al Lott’s tenure as City Manager.

Or it could be nothing at all.

More details as they become available.

And all that for a guy who is wholly unqualified?

You see, Dr. Joshua Murfree is qualified to teach in the Dougherty County School System.  He may even be qualified to be a principle in the Dougherty County School System.  But having never actually worked in a K-12 system, he’s completely unqualified to run one.  It’s like they gave me the blasted job, and I’m not even remotely qualified.

Then, they let this guy write his own contract.  Let that sink it a bit if you’re unfamiliar with the whole thing.  They let this man, who has never worked in a public school system, or even a private school, write his own contract.  The result?  You get a man who was unqualified and expected a yearly salary of $175,000 per year.  That was $25,000 more than Dr. Sally Whatley, who was qualified for the job in the first place.

Then, we find out after the School Board went ahead and decided to hire him despite their promises to the people of Dougherty County that we’d get a say that this man is apparently an albophobic racist who thinks it’s time a black man is superintendent.  I guess Dr. Culbreth didn’t qualify in his estimation.  And he’s going to be responsible for educating the children of Dougherty County?  Is he going to car about all of the kids?  Or just the black ones?

If we’re going to have a public schools, they should exist for everyone.  It’s how it should have worked in the 1950′s and earlier, and it’s how it should work now.  I sincerely hope they do, but his emails to the Southwest Georgian are hardly the kind of thing that comforts me.

Now, this man is going to be paid as much as $147,000 per year.  Meanwhile, qualified teachers are looking at twelve furlough days next school year.  Twelve days, and someone who’s unqualified is going to make seven times the median income in the Albany metro area.

Oh yeah.  That’s the way to keep good teachers and educate our young.

On the plus side, Deerfield and Sherwood Christian shouldn’t have any problems recruiting new students for next year.

Davis isn’t being charged with the crime he committed.

You see, under Georgia law, it’s illegal for any citizen who isn’t a post certified law enforcement officer to carry a firearm into a governmental building. The courthouse is off limits. The Government Center is off limits. And the Law Enforcement Center where Davis has his office? Oh yeah, that’s off limits too.

There’s been some speculation that the gun was “discovered” by a staff member who wanted to get even with Davis for a poor evaluation and his attempts to terminate her. Frankly, it’s irrelevant when it comes to discussion of Davis and his fate. You see, the law is the law. You or I are expected to follow the law. To the letter. If not, we get fined or imprisoned. So why should Davis get a walk?

We have people in this town who are fined for having a car in their driveway that the City deems “junk”. Yes folks, this really happens to people in Albany. We also have people who get fined because their grass is to tall. We have people who get threatened with fines because they cut down a tree on their own property. And yet, a city official breaks state law (a misdemeanor) and nothing?

Don’t get me wrong folks, I think the law is stupid. I see no reason why a lawful citizen should be prevented from carrying a firearm anywhere they want to go. I also classify Nathan Davis, despite this action, a lawful citizen all things considered. But that’s not the law. Even the new law that goes into effect on July 1, he would still be breaking the law.

People lose faith in government when government doesn’t keep faith with them. A friend of mine refers to things like this as “rules for thee, not for me” and this is a great example of that mentality. Those who work at higher levels of even local government are viewed by many as believing they are part of an aristocracy in this nation, one where the rules don’t apply. But they won’t put that in law, and for good reason.

If the City Commission wants to counter this, they simply need to insist that Davis is charged. It’s a misdemeanor. There’s no jail time, he just pays a fine and goes back to work. But failure to do this sends a message that we, the regular folks of Albany, don’t matter so much. We must follow the rules that city officials just flaunt.

Tell me where that’s right? Ever?

Keep checking back for more information as it becomes available.

Of course, so is everyone else.

The list, compiled by Forbes, contains 184 metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs. There are a total of 384, 200 of which are classified as “large” MSAs. Since the Albany MSA is classified as “small”, that means we weren’t competing with places like Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, or anywhere else like that. No, we’re competing with places like Iowa City, IA and Auburn, AL and Battle Creek, MI.

Yet, when the Economic Development Commission released the story, they use phrases like:

The city was listed among 183 others in the country as one of the “Best Small Places for Business and Careers” by Forbes.com earlier this month.

“It’s the low cost of doing business and the low cost of living,” explained Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission Spokeswoman Barbara Rivera Holmes.

And, of course, there’s this little gem:

“This (the ranking) is one more thing we can put in our arsenal,” she said.

Now, let me ask you what is worth putting into our arsenal? Darton associate professor of Economics Aaron Johnson points out some positives, saying:

“Primarily, our cost of living stands out and ranks among the upper third of the U.S. We are also fairly competitive in terms of cost of doing business, which focuses on cost of labor, energy, taxes and office space. In fact, our cost of business is lower in comparison to other smaller metro areas such as nearby Macon, Warner Robins, Athens and Brunswick. Our area colleges were also competitive and near the U.S. median within this ranking.”

He’s right, there are positives. But nothing from the Economic Development Commission indicates an understanding that, ultimately, this wasn’t a compliment from Forbes.

The truth of the matter is that we’re in pretty bad shape. We’re horrible on pretty much any metric you want to use. Our cost of living is low, but that is partially related to the low median income for the region, one of the ten poorest – again rated as such by Forbes I might add. Only five communities were rated lower. And yet, our leadership seems incapable of grasping this fact.

Now, my critics will argue that I’m tearing Albany down again. Frankly, my critics are full of crap. They don’t have the guts to call me out by name anyways, so they’re pretty irrelevant, but they also happen to be wrong.

You see, I’m not upset at the low ranking. OK, I am, but what I’m really worked up about is that the EDC seems to not grasp that this is negative. I can’t help but believe that failure to see the criticisms and negatives makes it impossible to improve the overall position of where Albany will be. They need to see the low points in order to raise them up.

If they can’t acknowledge the bad, they can’t eliminate it. And, without that, we’re doomed to the same old same old, rather than the destiny we could attain if we would just get our heads out of the sand and reach for it.