Last week I unveiled to my colleagues on the Hamilton County Commission a proposal requiring long-term planning by all Hamilton County agencies, including the Department of Education. This proposal was designed to take a more global approach to funding by providing a framework for the budget process that would take into account County needs and means. Most importantly, the proposal was to designed to deaden the impact of politics on funding by moving to a more long-range and business-like model.

Hamilton County citizens expect and deserve responsible stewardship from their elected officials. Some of my colleagues have stated that they oppose increasing taxes because they are “concerned about taxpayers.” These concerns beg the question: If my colleagues are truly concerned about taxpayers, why have they done nothing to lower taxes?

Perhaps because I am a newcomer to the Hamilton County Commission and anything but a professional politician, I am willing to confront the basic truth about some disturbing facts:

1. Hamilton County schools have significant needs that elected officials on both the State and local level are not meeting.

2. Dedicated teachers and other County employees are discouraged and demoralized.

3. The situation in Hamilton County is not getting better.

Some have misconstrued last week’s proposal as a thinly-veiled tax increase. At least one citizen has taken his hostility to the neighborhoods in District Seven (including my own) to gather signatures on a petition opposing a tax increase. If this citizen had come to my house, I would have signed his petition, for I, as a taxpayer, am opposed to higher taxes. If a citizen came to my house and asked me to sign a petition declaring my support for Hamilton County schools and their goal in helping our children build a better future, I would have signed it as well. I likewise would sign a petition to further Hamilton County’s economic development and to bolster County agencies that deliver important services to citizens. I am sure that my colleagues on the Hamilton County Commission would have also signed such petitions. Instead of a disguised tax increase, last week’s proposal was designed to realize the goals of all the hypothetical petitions mentioned above. Perhaps my status as a political novice explains my puzzlement at the reason my proposal proved to be so divisive when it was designed to realize the goals that we all share as Hamilton County Commissioners: keeping tax increases to a minimum, supporting our schools, and brightening Hamilton County’s economic outlook.

Before I entered local politics, I was a small businessman who spent the better part of his life trying to provide for his family. I do not claim to have all the answers to the problems facing Hamilton County. But my background has taught me the importance of honesty. So, in the interest of correcting misconceptions about my proposal, I promise the citizens of Hamilton County in general and District Seven in particular that each vote I cast as a Commissioner will be based on personal conviction and all available information, not the changing winds of political favor.

It would be easy and politically safe to take the approach of some of my colleagues and do nothing about the problems facing Hamilton County. That, however, is not the responsible choice of a faithful steward of the public’s trust. Instead, I choose to be proactive. When it is all said and done, the question I must ask myself is whether I have been a good steward. I hope that I will be able to answer that question in the affirmative. I trust the voters in Hamilton County to determine whether they agree.

Sincerely,

Larry L. Henry
Commissioner, District Seven
Hamilton County Board of Commissioners
larrylhenry@hotmail.com