The town of Tyrone commissioned

the Atlanta Regional Commission to do a staffing study on the town. Last

Thursday, Kelly McDonough made the presentation of the ARC findings before

the town council. The results were very good.

"Most of the time that

we are commissioned to do these studies, we are too late," McDonough

said. "However, Tyrone is in very good shape."

McDonough stated that the town

is staffed by highly efficient multi-taskers, who often have multiple

responsibilities. She also stated that their salaries are very competitive

with other municipalities, which will help as the town recruits people

to work there.

McDonough's presentation

went department by department, stating the responsibilities and challenges

for each. The main challenge for each department was that, as the town

grows over the next 10 years, more people will have to be hired. In some

cases, positions such as town planner, town engineer and computer specialist

will have to be created.

Currently, Tyrone has 23 full-time

and five part-time employees. By 2013, McDonough estimates the town will

need 35 full-time employees and three part-time employees.

The department that will need

the most new employees will be the police department, which will need

to hire between four and six new officers within the next 10 years. McDonough

also recommended that these new officers have experience with computers.

Tyrone will grow and change

over the next 10 years, but McDonough and the ARC believe that the town

has a good handle on their needs and how to adapt to the inevitable changes.