Editor’s note: Following are comments made on June 20, 2011 by Polk County Commissioner Chair Ray Gasperson regarding the fiscal year 2011-2012 budget.
I consider the primary role of a county commissioner should always be one of not only dealing with the current fiscal and other decision-making needs of our county, but even more importantly, having the vision to look forward two-five-plus years.
The reasons that I support the FY 2011-12 budget are:
1. One of the mandates from the last election both nationally and locally was that we must lower deficit spending and public debt. Here in Polk County we were doing that before the last election and as long as I am an elected representative of the taxpayers of this county, I will always advocate that we continue taking strong debt reduction action.
2. Polk County must be in a strong position to advance job-producing opportunities for our local economy. In order for this to be possible, we must have a healthy fund balance. An example of this was when I and the other members of the former BOC offered $300,000 matching funds last year hoping for a textile manufacturing company to locate in the former Woodlands Mill plant.
This budget meets my personal mandates which are: no tax increase, no dipping into the county’s savings for current operating expenses and it sets us on a positive fiscal road so that the next budget past this one, the FY 2012-13, should also not have a tax increase and also will not have to use the county’s savings for current operating expenses.