Issues

Through good management principles and a vision for innovation in operations we have made the Sheriff’s Office a national model for efficiency.  I believe some of these same principles can be applied to the Mayor’s Office as we face increasing challenges in debt reduction, education funding, public safety, The MED, and government operations.

Budget

A debt reduction plan is in place and working, but slowly.  Fiscal discipline will see slow progress in this area over the next 20 years.  The key to accelerated progress will be through a stronger economy and economic development resulting in an improved revenue stream.  Increased taxation is not the answer.

Improving Our Economy

Economic growth begins with a safe, attractive community where people want to live and industries desire to locate.  Together we must continue to work towards both of these goals.  At the same time, we will strengthen our talented, educated workforce to further enable them to meet the standards of a demanding and complex technical society.

Development

Shelby County should focus on what I call “smarter growth.”  This involves long range planning utilizing existing infrastructure such as roads, schools, greenways, retail, medical, and recreation to name a few.  Much has been invested in infrastructure that is currently underutilized, partly as a result of poor planning for growth over the years.  Our objective should be to capitalize on services existing but not fully utilized.

Sustainable Healthcare

Funding problems regarding The MED come from many directions: the increasing number of uninsured requiring treatment, partial reimbursement from the state for this treatment and little financial help from Mississippi and Arkansas for treating their residents who have no insurance.  The County does have a requirement to provide public health services that could be enhanced by more reliance on health clinics rather than The MED.  Reductions in cost could be achieved by investing in more health clinics.  A renewed dialogue at the state and local level with a change in administrations at both levels should focus on more reimbursement equity for MED services rendered.