VOTE411 Voter Guide

County Commissioners are assigned to two or more committees, but they are responsible for knowing what happens in all of them. All of the preparatory work is done in committee and then brought to the monthly meeting for approval. The Steering Committee decides what issues the commission will take up. Budget, Finance and Investment handles the budgets of the county, school board, and sheriff's department. Health & Education handles the School Board, Library and Health Department. Public Safety handles Sheriff, Jail, PAWS, and EMS. Public Works handles the landfill, planning for growth, and highways.

Our school teachers, sheriff's deputies, firefighters and EMS are paid less than neighboring counties, causing us to lose trained candidates. I want to ensure they receive competitive pay.

Housing costs are rising faster than wages. Many will never be able to own a home, something that my generation took for granted. I want to encourage building more affordable housing and bringing in higher paying jobs in our county.

Our county has more money in reserves than required by state law. We can use some of those reserves to increase pay for the county employees. The time between pay steps can be lessened to increase pay faster as well.

Builders and land developers could be given tax incentives to build less expensive homes. Public/Private partnerships could utilize county owned property for builders who agree to build affordable housing. Working with the Chamber of Commerce, we need to encourage more companies with better paying jobs to move to Rutherford County.