DON'T GUT DRUG SQUAD

CHATHAM COUNTY Commissioner Dean Kicklighter has it exactly wrong. Cutting
back on local law enforcement is not the way for the county to solve its
budget problems.

The top responsibility of any government is public safety, and one of the
top crime issues in Chatham County now is drugs. Gutting a countywide drug
enforcement operation that is working makes absolutely no sense -- except,
perhaps, to drug dealers who would stand to gain by such a big step backward.

The Chatham County Counter Narcotics Team provides a unified, regional
response to drug trafficking. It does a good job of using its limited
resources where they can be most effective.

Mr. Kicklighter, who represents west Chatham County, is one of the newer
commissioners. However, he seems to be growing into the job and becoming an
effective representative. That's what makes his latest proposal so
surprising. And so awful.

Last week, he suggested that county funding be eliminated for 13 of the 14
Savannah police officers assigned to CNT. Such a move would save the county
more than $632,000 annually, a sizable sum.

At the same time, however, it comes with an unacceptable cost --
potentially wrecking drug enforcement in the greater community. That's why
Chatham County District Attorney Spencer Lawton Jr., who has to prosecute
drug cases and put criminals in prison, is against it. So are other senior
law enforcement officials.

True, if the county slashes CNT support, the City of Savannah could pay the
salaries of the 13 officers assigned to the unit and keep it functioning.
Or maybe not. It's just as possible that the city could decide to tell the
county to take a hike and form its own drug squad -- something that city
officials, including Mayor Floyd Adams Jr., have suggested in the past.
Years of hard-won cooperation among local governments would go down the drain.

Drug dealers don't limit themselves to one neighborhood or city. It takes a
countywide approach to deal with a countywide problem. With its centralized
anti-drug efforts, CNT has eliminated many of the turf wars that once
shredded drug enforcement here.

To gut CNT would send a message to drug traffickers that the county is no
longer serious about fighting drugs.

Mr. Kicklighter says the County Commission has to decide if it is going to
make "tough cuts" or else raise taxes. He's right on that count. But if
he's serious about making tough decisions, then he needs to start with
those programs that don't directly affect public safety.

Commission Chairman Billy Hair made similar suggestions about cost-sharing
last summer as the County Commission tried to balance its budget.
Fortunately, commissioners saw the folly in his plan and rejected it. They
should take the same approach this time.

It was disappointing that Mr. Kicklighter would seem to take an anti-law
enforcement stance. The same goes for commissioners Jeff Rayno and, of all
people, David Gellatly, a former Savannah chief of police.

All three voted last Friday to force a vote on gutting the CNT.
Fortunately, Commissioners Harris Odell, Frank Murray, Joe Murray Rivers
and Priscilla Thomas had the good sense to vote no.

Interestingly, Mr. Hair didn't vote. He had left the room.

It takes leadership to cut popular, but non-essential, programs. Or, as a
last resort, to consider a tax hike. Compromising an effective
crime-fighting program is the opposite of leadership.