Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Commissioner Jackson Shares Results Of Community Survey
Submitted by Commissioner Chris Jackson
For the past several weeks, I have conducted a community survey in my district as well as on my website. I conducted this survey to solicit the public's input on some of the most important issues facing our county. I have always felt that that in order to really represent the people in my district and in our county, I must know where they stand on the issues of the day.
Now, after hundreds of Lawrence Countains have participated, I wanted to share some of the more notable results from the survey.
For starters, 79% of respondents said that jobs was the number one issue facing our county while education came in second with 14%.
82% of those surveyed feel the wheel tax is the most fair tax county government has at its disposal and 60% said they would support a slightly higher wheel tax in order to lower the county's property tax.
On the issue of a senior tax freeze, 73% of respondents favor such a freeze. When asked if they support or oppose the county building a spec building to lure potential businesses to Lawrence County, 44% support the idea, while 41% oppose it and 14% are not sure. 56% of survey takers also favor the county creating a program that will re-train workers who are unemployed.
When asked if they would support an increase in funding for a new "Roads Program" that would help repair and repave county roads, 58% would support an increase while 27% would oppose such an increase.
51% of those surveyed said they support the school board's recently proposed school building program that would turn current high schools into middle schools and would build new high schools in Loretto and Summertown while 29% oppose the plan and 20 said it would depend on the cost of the plan.
However, when asked if they would support the plan even if it mean raising taxes, 34% said yes, 44% said no and 22% said that it would depend on how big the tax increase would be.
85% of those who took the survey said they support a vetting process where the background and qualifications are reviewed for appointments to unelected boards and committees in county government. Another large majority, 83% support the recent move by the county commission to improve transparency within county government.
As to what kind of county elections Lawrence County should have, 54% say they support non-partisan elections while 26% favor a partisan primary system and 11% favor a system with no primary but still allows parties to choose a nominee.
When asked how long candidates should have before an election to put out campaign signs, 37% said 60 days before an election and 31% said 30 days before an election. 63% of those surveyed also said they support both making the Director of Schools position an elected position as well as making utility district members an elected position.
Finally, a good majority of respondents at 65% said Lawrence County needs to make improvements to our infrastructure, educational system and do more to recruit jobs even if it costs more, to be more competitive in the future.
I want to thank everyone who took the time to voice your opinion over the past few weeks. Your participation will help me and my colleagues better represent you and your views on the tough issues of the day and in the end, will help make our county stronger and more prosperous in future.
