E

Franklin County has not had a long-term plan to manage its future growth and operational scope, but new Mayor Chris Guess is attempting to do something about it.

Guess addressed the Chamber of Commerce on March 6 with a “state of the county” address during a Chamber member seminar and said the biggest priority is establishing a budget during times of extremely high inflation amid a recent property reappraisal that has left uncertainty about what the county will have to work with financially in the next few years.

Guess said he is developing a five-year plan to accommodate retail development and business recruitment, and he has an objective to expand broadband internet service into the parts of Franklin County that have seemingly been left in the dark ages.

Another priority, he said, is to develop Franklin County as a “brand” outsiders can recognize, making the area attractive to relocate to and conduct business.

Before the property reappraisal, Franklin County’s tax rate for land outside cities was $2.87 per $100 in assessed property valuation.

The County Commission adopted the certified rate by the state at $1.87 which was set to raise the same amount of revenue for the county as the previous year.

The adjustment means property values increased county wide by an average of about 35 percent. However, some residents reported that their property values had doubled during the reappraisal while others had said their new reappraised values were less.

Guess said residents whose property values have increased by 57 percent should expect to see no increase in their property tax bills compared to the previous year.

He said the circumstances for the county would have been better if the commission had not gone down a full dollar in the tax rate which would have given the county more revenue to work with.

“My problem with it is now we’re trying to figure out how to gain revenue and keep up with the times, and we can’t do that with the tax rate at $1.87,” Guess said, adding that it’s virtually fiscally impossible.

He said the county is dealing with an inflation rate of 8.75 percent, based on what the Social Security Administration has approved for benefit increases. The county is also simultaneously planning on employee pay increases to offset inflation.

He added that the county also has other major expenses, such as road repair and other improvements that will add to annual expenditures.

“To say that we can operate on what we did 15 years ago is short-sighted,” Guess said.

He said if the tax rate had been adjusted to $2.05 instead of $1.87, it would have worked much better in the county’s favor.

Guess said the five-year plan will address economic development issues Franklin County is facing, and a key avenue to getting there is through providing broadband service to areas that don’t have it. He added that it would put Franklin County on a level playing field with industrial and business recruitment.

“It’s like the ‘Field of Dreams’ (movie),” Guess said. “Build it, and they will come.”

Guess said Mike Cunningham, Franklin County director of economic development, has the background and working relationships at the state level that will aid greatly in ensuring the five-year plan remains on-target. He added that Cunningham’s expertise and input will make a difference in reaching those goals.

“One of my goals is to be able to raise revenue without continually going back to the taxpayers,” Guess said. “One way to do that is through sales tax and retail growth.”

Guess said Franklin County needs to attract stores that will dissuade residents from going elsewhere to shop. He used an example of men’s clothing store options that Franklin County doesn’t offer and how residents have to go out of town to buy those types of items that they can’t get locally.

Guess also referred to developing a slogan so that Franklin County can brand itself in a catchy way that is attractive to outsiders. He added that the slogan should feature something about Franklin County’s rural environment with urban opportunities in a setting highlighted by Tims Ford Lake.

Guess said the slogan could be included on the county’s webpage, social media sites and on letterheads.

He said the first goal is to develop the five-year plan then look further down the road with additional time-frame plans after it’s established.

“We’ve got to have that,” he said, referring to proper planning. “We need to change our mindset. We need to get past the Band-Aid mentality.”