Commissioner Years
I was elected to the Stanly County Board of Commissioners in 2004. It has been both a privilege and a pleasure to serve our great county with my fellow commissioners. It has been a productive time for our area in many ways.
In 2005 we passed the Adequate Public Facility Ordinance. This law allows the county to collect a surcharge from developers planning new subdivisions. New homes put a burden on services such as water, sewer, schools, and emergency management. This per house fee helps to prevent the population from rapidly outgrowing necessary community services while keeping property taxes down. This ordinance is pending legal challenge, but we are confident that it will pass, because it is the right thing to do.
In the last few years we have moved many government departments from cramped spaces in the downtown courthouse to Stanly Commons. This has provided more room for the court system to operate efficiently. Additionally this allows for “one stop centralized permits” This means that persons planning to build can get all three necessary permits under one roof for planning, environmental services, and building inspection. In January of 2007 this process won the Centralia Council of Government (COG) Innovation Award for Local Government. We also made many improvements to both the Courthouse building and Stanly Commons buildings.
Additionally, we made many improvements in water and sewer services. We are very proud of the fact that we have been able to place more water and sewer lines than in any other commissioners' tenure. Another major accomplishment was the development of the Stanly County Water and Sewer Authority. This department will facilitate the competition for state and federal grant monies to lay even more water and sewer lines in the future. We also standardized the rates for water and sewer disposal. Before this time rates varied widely from area to area. In addition, we automated water meter reading, thus cutting man hours and cost to the county.
We have been able to keep down property taxes to $.67, while nearly doubling our jail capacity. We are nearing completion of the much needed modern state-of-the art addition to our county jail which will alleviate inmate overcrowding. Additionally, we have been able to bring county employee's salaries up to state standards, and increase school funding.
Last year Alcoa's Badin Works completely shut down. We raised important and far-reaching questions concerning their responsibility for pollution clean-up, and revenue sharing from Alcoa's continued use of the area's water to generate and sell hydroelectric power. These issues are before the Federal Energy Relicensing Commission in Washington DC. We are eagerly awaiting their decision. The outcome will greatly affect this community's environment and economy over the next 50 years and beyond.
We on the Board of Commissioners are very proud of recent gains in economic development. We have seen the successful recruitment or expansion of the following industries: Hudson Pool, Fiber Composite, Norwood Manufacturing, Conveyor Components, Inc, International Automotive Components, Converpro, United Technologies, Wal-Mart in Locust, and Chicago Tube & Iron ,to name a few. Other industries are currently in the recruitment process. We are expecting they will positively impact our county's economic opportunities. These changes have been possible with the joint efforts of many people.
We have seen the reorganization of the Convention and Visitor's Bureau. This organization has gone from a struggling entity to one that is vital to our economic future. Additionally, we have witnessed our excellent airport facility continue to expand and modernize. It is now a state-of-the-art facility. Our association with the air national guard is vital and a key to local and national homeland security.
We have had the privilege of seeing the completion of new county facilities. Central Elementary School has moved to its modern, yet historic edifice. We completed the North Stanly EMS base, and are planning to build a central EMS base in the near future.
Our success was with only one mission in mind, “Is it good for the community?” Running government on the local level is always a team effort, and every team member is vital. I would like to thank past and present commissioners, Tony Dennis, Gene McIntyre, Sherril Smith, Gary Lowder, and Lindsey Dunevant, our excellent county manager, Jerry Myers, and past Economic Development Commission's director Robert Van-Geons, as well as all the county and city employees who have helped make our region a great place in which to live and work.