Economic growth for Union County will be the topic of conversation at the 10 July Candidate Forum at the Union County Senior Citizens Center. Sponsored by the Union County Business and Professional Association, State and local candidates have been asked to respond to a number of questions at the 12 Noon forum.

Under the Haslam Administration, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development put together a long-term strategy to make Tennessee the #1 state in the Southeast for high quality jobs. Following this this strategy, Tennessee has been experiencing one of the longest periods of consecutive economic growth in the state’s history, with 22 consecutive quarters of growth, according to a report from the Secretary of State’s office. Davidson County had the largest number of new business filings in 2016, with 2,395 filings, followed by Shelby County. Hamilton County, home to Chattanooga, had the strongest growth in the last year, as filings increased by 32 percent. “These strong numbers give us a good idea that Tennessee’s economy will continue to grow,” said Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “It’s obvious that Tennessee has a climate that continues to attract new businesses.” Tennessee has decreased the size of Government, cut taxes, offered business tax credits, invested in educational opportunity, broadband, transportation infrastructure and a variety of other initiatives to attract new companies and grow existing companies.

Union County has followed the opposite path because of the lack of a cohesive strategic vision and mistakes of a prior administration. Accounting deficiencies, underfunding, and poor planning resulted in a historic property tax increase and a wheel tax to pay for unfunded expenditures from previous commissions. Union County is one of only three counties in the state where the school system and county government are the number one and two employers. The county is experiencing a negative business growth, a poverty rate over 20%, population decline and out-migration, mainly among 20 – 29 year olds, and Union County is one of only six counties in the state not to have a jobs announcement under the current 8 years of economic expansion. Our state representatives recently voted against the largest tax decrease in the history of the state which included out-years funding for transportation infrastructure and the county budget reflects no investment in Economic Growth.

Voters will soon decide which direction the county will go. Talk of a new school and a justice center are among the topics of conversation – growth of government and higher taxes. Talk of building a collation of economic partners to lobby Nashville for highway infrastructure, attract new business including broadband into the county and bringing opportunities for adult education are also being discussed by some candidates – economic investment and revenue growth. The voters will decide which direction the County takes on August 2nd, and everyone is encouraged to be part of that conversation.