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Over the past several weeks, I have been writing about the accomplishments of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the many plans we have in place for the future. I have stressed the fact that our community is growing at a strong and steady pace and pointed out the necessity of keeping up with that growth in order to provide a safe and progressive environment that our children will want to call home. Last year, Bradley County Trustee Mike Smith gave a very positive annual report detailing the fiscal health of Bradley County. He cited total interest returns of $1,376,162 over the budgeted interest, investments of $25,087,000 (maturity dates from 7/18/07 to 11/15/08), and a bank balance of $30,447,466.93. Mr. Smith also cited other areas of reduced county expenses and increased revenue for the general fund. I believe Mr. Smith is doing a terrific job as Trustee and should be commended.
Last week, during his annual “State of the City” speech before the Kiwanis Club, Cleveland City Mayor Tom Rowland also presented a positive report regarding the financial growth of our community. Mayor Rowland predicted that 2008 will usher in a “retail explosion,” economic expansion, transportation improvements and increased tourism. According to the mayor, we will soon see many retail outlets coming into the area people have been wanting for a number of years, including a Target, Kohl’s, Circuit City and more.
Both these reports prepared by our elected officials come as good news for Bradley County. Add to this the fact that several years ago, our community moved from a rural designation to a metropolitan designation and it becomes impossible to ignore that we are no longer the slow paced industrial and farming community our parents and grandparents grew up in. Although agriculture and industry remain vital to Bradley County, we have evolved and continue to evolve technologically as well, and we must provide service to all these areas equally. Our population is at the 100,000 mark with no sign of slowing down, there is new construction and business growth every way you turn, and tourism into our area continues to climb, with more and more travelers coming through or spending time here.
All this just underscores the message I have been trying to make since taking over as Bradley County Sheriff; that is, we live in a community that is on the move, and all of us who serve as elected officials ~ city and county ~ should be factoring this into our way our thinking. We can’t enter this new century blindly, trusting to luck and relying on an antiquated status quo. We live in a technical world that changes almost daily, and it is going to take all elected leaders pulling together, motivated by a clear vision of progress that will serve the best interests of all Bradley County citizens.
We’ve seen great progress here at the Sheriff’s Office over the past 16 months. I feel like we are good stewards of what we are given and have stretched existing resources about as far as they can be stretched. On the one hand, it can seem like an uphill battle, working with outdated and unsafe equipment and constantly playing catch-up with area law enforcement agencies while meeting the public safety requirements of a growing community. On the other hand, I feel galvanized and encouraged by the support the BCSO receives from the citizens. I am grateful to be serving during this pivotal time in Bradley County history and will continue to fight for what I feel is the right thing to do ~ for our deputies, for our citizens and for our future.
And not only do the people of this county deserve the best from their elected leaders, our children do, too ... as do their children and their children’s children. Because the decisions we make today ~ whether in the area of public safety, education or infrastructure ~ will define us as a community, and will determine whether our young people will want to make a life, raise a family and prosper here, or whether they will want to move on to “greener” pastures.
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