County Council Chairman and Incumbent Council Dist. 5

All candidates for Anderson County Council were given multiple opportunities to share their positions unedited with voters in The Anderson Observer. Here are the answers from Anderson County Council Chairman and Incumbent from Dist. 5, Tommy Dunn.

1. What are the three greatest challenges facing Anderson County in the next five years? I believe we’d all agree that the three greatest challenges we face are growth management, improving roads and maintaining our quality of life.

2. How would you work with council to meet these challenges? The challenges we face are considerable. As I have always done, I will continue to work with my fellow council members and the public on implementing practical, common-sense solutions. Recent examples include the development of the Anderson County Comprehensive Plan update and the ongoing work with our new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).

3. Anderson County is one of only two counties in the state with two-year terms for council (the other is Edgefield). All the 44 other counties have staggered four-year terms to provide some continuity of government. Would you favor a shift for Anderson County to follow the lead of these 44 counties? Why or why not? Changing to four-year terms would require a voter referendum, and the people have voted twice against a four-year term. I shall follow the will of the people, and I have not heard any significant community desire to change our current system.

4. Land use and zoning continue to be a top concern. Four voting precincts have already petitioned for zoning. Three were approved and the fourth is in the process of approval. Would you encourage others to follow suit? What other measures would you take to improve quality development while protecting the rights of landowners? I certainly encourage people in unzoned communities to consider working with their neighbors on zoning efforts. Zoning in our voting precincts is a community-driven effort that ends up reflecting the clear will of the people, and I will always be respectful of that.
5. Impact fees have been largely rejected in Anderson County. Uses for this source of special funding includes roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, solid waste facilities, stormwater management, parks, and public safety (police, fire, EMS) facilities. These funds absolutely cannot be used for the repair, operation, or routine maintenance of existing facilities, nor can they be used to upgrade facilities unless the upgrade explicitly increases capacity to serve the new development. What role do you see impact fees playing in the county’s future and how would you weigh this revenue source against keeping new housing affordable? Unfortunately, impact fees are impractical to implement as they are currently structured under state law. I think growth should pay for itself, so I am very supportive of the “concurrency” legislation pending in Statehouse. The concurrency bill provides clear, practical and equitable guidance for implementing impact fees, and I encourage all members of our legislative delegation to get behind this effort – it’ll be a big help to us at the local level.
6. Do you favor tax incentives as a tool for economic development? It’s important for us to have a strong economic development program – I remember how bad things got when the textile mills went away and the aftermath of 2008 economic crisis. We have to have jobs for our people. When Electrolux announced its temporary closure, a number of workers were able to find jobs at First Quality and other local industries thanks to our ongoing economic development efforts. But tax incentives have to be used judiciously. We offer them only if the project in question passes a rigorous benefit-cost analysis, offers competitive wages and benefits and will be an appropriate fit for our community.

7. Anderson County continues to grow at a record pace. How can council manage this growth without raising property taxes? Zoning through community consent, concurrency legislation, and new land use tools provided in our ordinance revisions will help us better manage growth and ensure that development will pay for itself.

8. What are your three favorite things about living and working in Anderson County? I love our lakes, farms and the inherent charm of our county. I love how our citizens work hard and come together in times of need. I love seeing how committed people are to their communities. We are a very vibrant, very special place to live.
9. What three things are most challenging about living here? From my perspective as an elected official, the biggest challenge is ensuring that we can continue to provide government services efficiently and in a cost-effective manner. We are fortunate to have a county workforce that is committed to going the extra mile to serve the citizens.
10. What would be your three top priorities in funding in the county’s annual budget? My top funding priorities are: 1) Public Safety (sheriff, fire, EMS, Emergency Services, 911, etc.). 2) Critical Government Services (Roads and Bridges, Solid Waste, etc.). 3) Quality of Life Initiatives (parks, playgrounds, senior citizen and special population programs, etc.)
11. How would you describe your management style and how would this be reflected if elected to council? I have a hands-on, detail-oriented approach and I focus on results.
12. Why did you decide to run for county council? I first ran for county council back in 2008 because I was dissatisfied with the direction our community was headed in, and I thought I could work with other elected officials to restore trust in government. Since being elected, I have focused on constituent service – I make sure that any concerns addressed to me are handled by the right county department and I am insistent that we help people with their concerns, be it a road issue, a codes violation, a matter with the assessor’s office, whatever it may be.
13. Do you or your family members have any business relationships with the county or other businesses or groups that could be a conflict if elected to council? None whatsoever.
14. How have you been involved in the community (include any charitable/nonprofit work, volunteer efforts, fire service, etc.) and why is this important to you? I have been a proud and active member of the Centerville Fire Department since I was old enough to join. I support a number of local charities, and I always help my friends and neighbors in their time of need.

15. Elected officials leave a legacy. If elected to council, how do you hope to be remembered? I’m nobody particularly special. I just want to be remembered as someone who did what he could to help the community and had the public’s interests at heart.