Photo Credit: Lee Becker

John Daniell.

Oconee County citizens will witness a change of culture in county government after Jan. 1, said John Daniell, who will take over as chairman of the board of commissioners on that date.

The work of the government and the Commission will be “responsive to citizens... efficient in our operations, and... bring everybody in and talk about our goals and where we want to go as a community,” Daniell said.

The county again will hold town hall meetings, Daniell said, and efforts will be made to increase citizen participation in those settings and through appointments to county advisory boards. The government also will be more transparent, he said.

Perhaps the biggest change Daniell promised in a nearly hour-long interview on a variety of topics won’t be noticeable to most citizens; though, if implemented, it will be very obvious to county department heads and other employees. Daniell said he will make it clear that the county administrative officer is in charge of executive functions of the county. Daniell called the administrative officer “the chief of staff.”

Daniell said the chairman is the “policy watchdog” who should make sure the directives of the commission are being carried out. The chairman also is the representative of Oconee County at the state level.

For more, visit Oconee County Observations.