In his State of the County address Thursday, Greene County Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon said the county's operations and financial condition are "very solid." And he pointed to the move to make county operations more transparent to the public as a success. But he said there are challenges.
"We do yet have mountains to climb in order to provide high quality, state of the art public service to citizens," he said. "We call it constant quality improvement."
According to Dixon, the county needs to make strategic investments in infrastructure and economic development. And he said the region needs to work together to stand out as a desirable hub for new markets, enhanced tourism and overall growth while maintaining a relatively lower cost of living than other areas.
While Dixon said they've had difficulty recruiting employees because their pay structure is below where it needs to be, the people they do hire want to stay.
"They stay because they love what they do to serve you," he told the crowd. "This is their county, too, and they believe in the cause, and we're deeply grateful for them."
He said they've spent the last seven years growing a culture of "servant leadership, which is being fostered with an eye toward the horizon and mindful of the critical investments of the needs of tomorrow."
Dixon pointed out what "a creative solution" that he said has saved the county "tens of thousands of dollars." About five years ago, according to Dixon, the county's health insurance for employees was going up 10% or more annually, so they offered their employees a choice: They could stay with the current plan, or they could opt into a plan with a higher deductible that had a health savings account component, and the county would contribute to that account.
"We're incentivized to be healthier," he said. "Claims have been reduced, and the first year we did that, remember, it was a 0% increase in our premiums, in our health insurance, the second year a 0%, and the third year was only 3%.
He pointed out positive changes in a few towns in the county, including Ash Grove, Willard, Republic and Rogersville. Rogersville, he said, has been recognized as the fastest growing city per capita in Missouri. He said that growth is "a sign of health and vibrancy" and that the county will work with them as they build for the future.
He encouraged those in attendance to vote yes on a hotel/motel license tax increase in November to fund a new convention and event center in Springfield.
Dixon took the opportunity during his speech to talk about property tax reform efforts at the state level and to point out that the county is funded almost entirely by sales tax. Even though they collect property taxes, very little property tax revenue actually goes to the county. He said property tax reform takes away local control. He said, while he's grateful for the work of local House members, the legislature needs to "return local control, reverse the centralization creep and make sure that rollback as intended under the Hancock Amendment is completed."
In an interview with KSMU after the speech, Dixon explained that he feels that decisions made in Jefferson City sometimes take away local control and centralize it in Jefferson City, and that can have negative consequences.
"The government that's closest to the people really knows the people best and can serve the people the best because the people have immediate access to them," he said.
When local control is lost, according to Dixon, "people often don't have the ability to vote on their own tax proposals and fund the things they want to fund locally."
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