Jan. 6, 2009 marked an auspicious beginning for the three new members of Oconee County Council, sworn in that evening and one of their number, Reg Dexter, elected chairman.

Dexter, Joel Thrift, selected as vice chairman, and Wayne McCall had been elected on a reformist vote by an overwhelming majority of Oconee voters. In that frame of mind, Dexter read a prepared statement that pledged the three to address several concerns, among them, to “review the county’s financial status by requesting an audit.”

Ten months later, that pledge has not only gone unfulfilled, but Dexter and Thrift are backing away from seeing it through.

Oconee County needs a complete audit carried out by an experienced, professional organization with a solid financial and management auditing background. County government’s needs go beyond a simple tallying of dollars and cents, although that is, obviously, most important. An analysis of management methods and efficiencies would be a very good thing as well, given the lack of consistent direction department heads have operated under for the last several years and problems some departments have had in accomplishing tasks for which money has been budgeted.

To put it bluntly, things on Pine Street are a mess.

It is not surprising that county government has issues. Any organization that turns over managers and board members as often as Oconee County is going to have plenty of problems. There’s been no steady, guiding vision there for way too long.

What is surprising is that the new County Council seems intent on dragging its feet and failing to follow through on campaign commitments. Getting a handle on Oconee’s pressing financial and management issues is way too important to address slowly and methodically. It requires a very clear and totally focused effort by a group that knows what it is doing and can get to work now. That is what we call on council to give us.