WHY THE DRUG DEALERS ARE SMILING

Savannah's ever-enterprising drug dealers probably pay little attention to
local politics. They're too busy pushing their illicit products -- and
keeping an eye out for undercover cops trying to bust them at it.

But if any of them were watching last Friday's political shenanigans at the
Chatham County Courthouse, they had to have cracked a few smiles. That's
because some elected officials, unfortunately, seem determined to make
pushing less perilous.

County commissioners, for the second time in less than a year, considered
an ill-conceived measure that probably would doom the Chatham-Savannah
Counter Narcotics Team (CNT). That's the county-run, county-funded police
squad that has the unenviable task of putting the community's never-ending
supply of drug dealers behind bars.

A core group of commissioners, which includes Chairman Billy Hair and
commissioners Dean Kicklighter, Jeff Rayno and David Gellatly, have wanted
to slash county funding for the eight-year-old CNT in a big way. It's not
that they hope to make weed and crack more readily available. Rather, it's
a matter of money. And politics.

The latest unsuccessful effort to cut CNT off at the knees, led by
Kicklighter, called for the City of Savannah to shoulder a major portion of
the CNT's bills. About $632,000, to be exact. That's the cost to the county
of the current salaries of 13 of the 14 Savannah police officers assigned
to CNT duty.

Such a move would help the county out of its current fiscal jam. However,
it would put local drug enforcement in a pickle.

There's no guarantee the city would voluntarily fund a county agency.
Savannah Mayor Floyd Adams Jr. may think he's a charitable soul who's so
selfless that he may sacrifice part of his life to run for Congress. But he
and the rest of City Council are not that generous.

More likely, city officials would take that $632,000 and form their own
drug squad within the city's police department. That would be the beginning
to the end of cooperation among local departments on drug investigations.
Turf-guarding and petty jealousies would resurface. Then, faster than
anyone could say "Ricky Jivens," Savannah and Chatham County would be right
back to the bad old days prior to 1994, when drug enforcement had a lot in
common with the Keystone Kops.

That's why some druggies may be chuckling right now. Indeed, it's no wonder
why morale within the CNT is said to be terrible. Not only is the agency's
future in doubt, but its present is no picnic either. The special unit has
been short five officers (out of 42 positions) since last summer because of
money woes.

However, credit Hair for proposing what could be a reasonable alternative
last week. He suggested that the CNT be funded through future sales tax
collections -- more specifically, the local option sales tax. That way,
funding would be secure and somewhat insulated from Courthouse and City
Hall politics.

In the meantime, remember this date: March 19. That's when voters in the
county's 3rd District (Historic District, east Savannah and Thunderbolt
areas) will go to the polls in a special election to choose a new county
commissioner.

It's disconcerting to know that the county may be one vote away from
scuttling the CNT. It would be better to know where each of the candidates
- -- Gordon Varnedoe, John McMasters and Carl Smith -- stand.