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Keiffer named to national transportation steering committee
Phil Keiffer, District 5 County Commissioner (Submitted photo)
Updated: Jul 16, 2024, 8:16 PM
Published:
Special to the Herald
SPRINGFIELD – Phil Kieffer has worked his way into the front seat of a vehicle designed to improve America’s transportation system.
Kieffer, Effingham County’s District 5 commissioner, was notified July 10 that he has been appointed to the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) Transportation Policy Steering Committee. The committee engages in all matters pertaining to federal transportation legislation, funding and regulation, and their impacts on county government.
“I had expressed an interest in being a part of something (for NACo) and that’s more or less where I landed,” Kieffer said July 11. “I was particularly interested in transportation.”
Kieffer’s NACo membership will begin Aug. 1. He will have committee voting rights at the organization’s annual conference in Philadelphia in July 2025.
“It’ll probably take that year to really learn and understand what exactly we will be doing and what our role is (as a committee),” Kieffer said. “I’m up for it but I’ve got to get my feet wet on a national level.”
NACo believes that the nation’s transportation system is a vital component in building and sustaining communities, moving people and goods, and developing competitive economies at local and regional levels, and on a global scale. It contends that counties should be recognized as major owners of transportation infrastructure and provided funding and authority that adequately reflect their role in the transportation system.
“We’ve got to tap into resources at every level,” Kieffer said. “We can leave no stone unturned. You’ve got to be in the game to understand it.”
Counties own 45 percent of the nation’s roads and 39 percent of its bridges and are involved with more than a third of the transit systems and airports in the United States.
Founded in 1935, NACo unites America's 3,069 county governments. Its mission is to promote excellence in public service, foster county solutions and innovation, encourage intergovernmental collaboration, and provide value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.
It currently has more than 1,100 individual county-elected and appointed officials from every region of the country represented on 10 policy steering committees, ad hoc and standing committees, caucuses and task forces.
Live Oak Public Libraries attorney Wade Herring addresses Effingham County commissioners during Tuesday’s nearly two-hour hearing on both the removal of Library Board Chair Erica Biezenbos and the county’s decision to split from Live Oak, as a capacity crowd of supporters fills the room. (Mya Taylor / Effingham Herald)
Paul Kasko
Updated: Oct 8, 2025, 2:55 PM
Published: Oct 8, 2025, 3:46 AM
SPRINGFIELD, Ga. — After a rowdy, more than two-hour public hearing Tuesday night, Effingham County commissioners voted unanimously to end the county’s more than 80-year partnership with the Live Oak Public Libraries system and to remove Library Board Chair Erica Biezenbos.
Commissioners plan to establish a new, county library system.
The audience — made up almost entirely of Live Oak supporters — erupted in boos as commissioners cast their votes, finalizing a decision that will fundamentally reshape the future of local library services. No member of the public spoke in favor of ending the partnership.
The vote ends Effingham’s decades-long affiliation with the Savannah-based regional library system, which oversees branches in Rincon and Springfield. The split will not take effect until June 30, 2026.
“It’s a nine-month process,” County Manager Tim Callanan said after the meeting.
Financial review and county rationale
The decision followed months of review into the county’s financial and administrative relationship with Live Oak. The county recently completed a detailed review, led by retired school librarian and media specialist Nate Ball and retired CPA Wesley Corbitt. Their analysis found that Effingham’s library funding is significantly higher than comparable counties, largely because of administrative overhead. County officials said the change will allow Effingham to reduce administrative costs, gain greater local control, and reinvest savings into staff, programs, and facilities.
“This is about finances,” commission chairman Damon Rahn said.
Critics warned that leaving Live Oak could cost the county access to a large portion of its physical collection and specialized programs, including literacy resources, early childhood initiatives, and partnerships with Savannah-area museums.
More than a dozen Live Oak supporters challenged the accuracy of Ball’s and Corbitt’s audit and expressed concern about potential censorship. They urged commissioners to postpone the vote until a full financial and transition plan could be presented to the public.
“You need to take a minute and give the community time to process,” one supporter said. Commenters also expressed concern about the impact on low-income residents, seniors, and other members of the community who regularly rely on the library.
Live Oak supporters also accused commissioners of back-room dealing, claiming that Ball — a former grade school media specialist hired under a consulting contract approved in December 2024 — was promised the library director position with a proposed salary of $120,000.
The public hearing grew heated at times, with residents frustrated over both the process and the potential impact on the county’s two library branches. At one point, Rahn had to warn audience member Ivy Gibbins to stop interrupting or she would be removed.
Ball’s and Corbitt’s audit indicated the county could save up to $373,000 annually by operating its own system. Consultants assured commissioners that core statewide resources — including PINES (the statewide library lending network) and GALILEO (Georgia’s virtual library system) — would remain available under any new arrangement.
Erica Biezenbos answers questions from the county’s attorney, Edward Newberry, during Tuesday’s hearing on her removal as Effingham County Library Board Chair. (Mya Taylor / Effingham Herald)
Commissioners pledge reinvestment
County commissioners promised that the libraries would not close and that, according to the agreement with Live Oak, resources and staff would remain available in each branch. They emphasized that the $373,000 in projected savings would be reinvested into library operations.
“We want to reinvest in our board and libraries,” Commissioner Roger Burdette said. Burdette, who in 2023 expressed concerns about LGBTQ-themed materials in Effingham libraries, sought to address fears that he intended to censor library content.
“Why would I wait more than a year,” he said, “if that was my plan?”
He added: “No one wants to get rid of library services.”
Commissioner Jamie DeLoach said, “I want to keep Effingham dollars in Effingham County. Reinvest the money in our services and people.”
Commissioner Beth Helmly praised the passion of Live Oak supporters. “We can make a good library system ourselves. Many of you say we can’t do it without Live Oak. I say we can,” she said.
The commission also voted unanimously to remove Biezenbos as library board chair and replace her with Sherry Duff, citing repeated procedural and oversight failures.
Attorney Wade Herring, who represented Biezenbos and Live Oak during the hearing, argued that commissioners could not remove Biezenbos without due process. The county’s lawyer, Edward Newberry, said the county’s bylaws give commissioners the legal authority to remove her.
New allegations surface ahead of vote
On Monday, the day before the public hearing, a new letter alleged that top county officials orchestrated a plan to separate the libraries without proper legal authority or public transparency. The claims added to the debate surrounding the county’s long-standing partnership with Live Oak and fueled criticism from supporters of the regional system.
If you missed Tuesday’s meeting, you can watch the full proceedings on the county’s YouTube channel.
