Political Notebook: First Macon-Bibb meeting of 2016 likely to involve rare vote

The Macon-Bibb County Commission's first meeting of 2016 is expected to include a rare vote as commissioners will decide whether to overturn a veto from Mayor Robert Reichert.

This marks just the second time since consolidation of Macon and Bibb County governments took effect in January 2014 that Reichert has issued a veto. The first time the mayor was able to get his way when commissioners upheld his veto. That move prevented the county from reopening the bidding process to find a firm to manage a pension plan.

This time the fight is over a resolution approved by commissioners that asks state legislators to amend the county charter to limit a mayor's ability to fire department heads.

PERDUE LOOKS BACK ON FIRST YEAR IN SENATE

David Perdue said his first year as a U.S. senator reiterated how broken the American budget process has become.

In a letter he penned, Perdue details his experience that began with him sponsoring three bills in his first week, including a constitutional amendment to balance the budget.

"Our government today spends more than two thirds of its annual budget on mandatory expenses. That is more than four times what we spend on defense," Perdue said in the letter. "This explosion in spending has propelled our nation into a debt crisis that is already well past the tipping point. In fact, Washington has racked up so much debt that it amounts to nearly one million dollars for every American family. Equally as concerning, career politicians have no plan to solve this problem anytime soon."

Perdue also touched on his time serving on a foreign relations committee. The primary focus was to stop nuclear proliferation and complete the first State Department authorization since 2002.

"The absence of global leadership from the United States has led many of our allies to question our financial and military commitments and invoked doubt in our ability to defeat terrorism once and for all," the letter said. "Looking forward, my goal is to get Washington to adopt a more holistic approach to fixing the underlying drivers of our debt and addressing these global security challenges."

HOUSTON COMMISSION MEETS TUESDAY

The Houston County Commission will hold its first meeting of the year Tuesday, and it looks like it will be mostly routine business.

Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker said the agenda will be short. Items include board appointments and a few requests for special exceptions to the planning and zoning ordinance.

Writers Stanley Dunlap and Wayne Crenshaw contributed to this report.

This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 9:28 PM with the headline "Political Notebook: First Macon-Bibb meeting of 2016 likely to involve rare vote ."