OUR ISSUES
UPCOMING ISSUES
As a current citizen of the community, I strongly support transparency for projects that have recently been approved with little input from the community. Most decisions are made with what information is available at the time when decisions are made. When more information is made available, this may have impacted some decision making. Most of the information and concerns are often voiced by someone in the community. I want to make sure that this is part of the process before major decisions are made for the communities interest.
Merger
According to the ‘Strategic Plan’ for growth that was adopted by the current Fiscal Court and City Commission, the plan is calling for this to be studied in 2027-2028.
While this has failed twice in the past, this will be a hot topic for this next term.
I want to make sure that this process is done efficiently, thoroughly, and most importantly, transparently for the community.
If merger is not feasible, there could be areas where consolidation of services should be considered and implemented.
I would like to insure that tax dollars are being used efficiently.
Convention Center
The city is planning on having a long-awaited convention center in the downtown area.
The county is anticipated to have some involvement in this facility.
I want to make sure that the design can be flexible to accommodate a variety of uses desperately needed for our community.
While this may not be the replacement of the demolished civic center, it will be very important to have an economic impact on a facility that can host events for our community.
Job Creation
While we tend to think of large manufacturing companies like Topy, Buffalo Trace, and Montaplast, and large retailers like Wal Mart and now Target coming soon, when considering job creation, most new jobs are created by small employers.
It is also true, however, that large manufacturers/retailers are much more stable sources of employment than small companies that have high failure rates.
As Magistrate, I will work hard to find ways to help small business comply with regulations and codes that often make it very difficult for small businesses with limited financial resources to be successful.
Local leaders need to always recognize the importance of state government to our job base and local economy.
Franklin County government leaders need to take every opportunity to impress on the legislature and the governor the importance of keeping the pension promise to state workers and the decline in earning power of state workers who have gone for years with little or no salary increases.
At the same time, retirement from government positions should open the door for new employees.
Limited government Involvement in the private sector
In recent years, the Fiscal Court has allocated tax dollars to several projects, including private commercial and industrial developments.
While community facilities are important, government involvement in traditional private development should remain limited.
Excessive public funding may set a precedent for future developers to expect similar support.
Although new developments like Target are welcome, the level of taxpayer investment in roads, infrastructure, and related costs—typically covered by developers—raises concerns about fairness and consistency.
Past projects did not receive this level of assistance.
Additionally, funding commitments to sports complexes, sewer extensions, and the Anderson/Franklin industrial development could strain resources needed for broader community priorities such as mental health, housing, and job creation.
Green Space
I am in support of maintaining our green space requirements and open to the possibility of increasing the current requirements for residential land use.
This “smart growth” strategy will encourage infill development in suburban areas and help strengthen our tax base without raising taxes.
Our surrounding communities with higher growth rates have the higher site requirements and are showing the growth benefits.
I also have a concern that some of our rural areas in the southern portion of the county that will have sewer extension will possibly create more clustered development in these areas that will also create additional traffic on some roads that will need upgrades as a result.
We should have some planning to address the anticipated future growth forecasted in these areas.