the County Address. I would like to start off by saying what I believe we all know, that it has been a stressful year filled with much economic turmoil for everyone.
We have seen many of our citizens lose their jobs and struggle to care for their families in the recession. We have seen businesses close and others significantly downsize. We have seen the farmers left trying to recover from last year’s drought along with the increasing cost of fuels and supplies. The churches, non-profit organizations, and recreational groups have also suffered due to the decrease in contributions.
The Fiscal Year 2009 – 2010 budget was perhaps one of the toughest we
have ever faced, and unfortunately, it appears that the upcoming Fiscal Year 2010 – 2011 budget preparation will be even harder to work through. In anticipation of the difficult time ahead, County government must continue to do more with less and strive to find savings wherever we can. I must ask again this year, for every County department to find ways to continue to conserve. Remember, our citizens are still facing hard times and we owe it to them to do our best. With that said, I am pleased to report on some of the positive events that occurred in 2009.
* After many months of work, the Board adopted the Comprehensive Land Use Plan in March of 2009.
* As a result of the passage of the 2007 recreation bond, many of the community recreation projects were completed or are well on their way to completion.
* We sold the last package of bonds this past summer and are pleased that we maintained our strong bond ratings. As a result of those bond sales, the new Corinth Holders and Cleveland High Schools will be ready for students in the fall of 2010.
* We held community forums and established a committee to find ways to reduce and hopefully eliminate teenager driving injuries and deaths. This continues to be one of the Board’s highest priorities.
* We appreciate the strong working relationship we have with the
Board of Education and Johnston Community College. Our primary responsibility is providing funding each year, and we will continue to do the best we can with the funds we have available. All of us are likely to operate next year on the same or less funding than the current year.
* We are completing the final water district in Johnston County.
The water district program began in the mid-1990’s with the
Hopewell-Pisgah Water District. The combined districts currently have 27,000 services serving over 60,000 people in the County who reside outside towns. There are still areas inside the 16 water districts that have not been served due to a lack of signups and budget limitations. We will continue to look for opportunities to serve those areas when feasible.
* Announced a $268 million expansion by Talecris of Clayton which is anticipated to add 259 new jobs.
In looking to 2010, we must continue to be mindful of the recession and closely monitor our spending while balancing the needs of County government. I look to the future of our County with hope and optimism. I think I can speak for the entire Board in saying our number one priority will continue to be to do whatever we can to facilitate job retention and job growth. As mentioned earlier, we recently had the largest economic development announcement in the history of our County from Talecris. To me, that announcement alone is a sign that the growth in the commercial and industrial sectors will pick up, even though the recovery may be slower than normal. I am also hopeful that we will see residential construction resume and more jobs created to help those that are unemployed.
As I stated last year, Johnston County is a great place to live, work, play and raise a family. I still strongly believe this and always will. I know that together, we can help Johnston County thrive once again.
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