This is the second in a new weekly interview series. Williamson County is developing and changing at a fast pace. Like any developing area, the highs come with lows- challenges and issues that need to be addressed. Each week we will interview a leader in the community, someone who is right in the thick of things, who has some kind of power over how the county- public or private sector- is facing the future.
Last week we interviewed Matt Largen, the CEO of Williamson Inc, the county’s chamber of commerce. This week Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson answered the call. It was a big week for the county. A long-brewing deal to bring Schneider Electric and more than 1,000 high-paying jobs became official and the county commission passed a controversial budget and tax increase.
Anderson, mayor since 2002 and before that a county commissioner since 1986, played an important- even central- role in making these things happen.
Most of us think about a time that was, and we live in a time that is, and we want a time that might be.
What is the biggest issue facing the county?
There would be two. Maintaining our quality of life that we have come to not only enjoy but expect and quality of life being our work, our schools, our leisure and the second thing is as we continue to grow, being able to provide this quality of life through growth–how do we do this while holding our taxes to a level that is affordable for all, so the government can provide those services that are needed? The government doesn’t create jobs, it is just conduit, a facilitator, for the community. And it needs to maintain good infrastructure- water, sewer, roads, schools, all the things government is required to do. The challenge is what we have, how do we maintain that and continue to maintain it. You plan, you look at the problems- but a plan is just a road map- you put it in a petri dish, artificially look at it on paper and say what can we do. You have to be flexible and react to changes and at the same time plan for growth. A plan is just a road map, you travel down it but if you have something go wrong you have to figure a way to get it fixed.
What is the balance between development and traffic?
Well, the more people who move in, the more vehicles, so how do we deal with that? It is very difficult to continue widening roads, so you have to look at other forms of transportation: transit, carpooling, better use of work flow and flexible scheduling. Inside the cities, a lot of cities are addressing these issues with these live, work, play type communities, such as Ovation in Cool Springs. But there is no magic wand, nothing saying that any of these things will work. The answer could be a whole bunch of things, and behavior change is important. You have to be recognizing, and reacting to what is happening. All of us are trying to do everything we can, but the rate of growth just leaves us behind the eight ball.
What is the hardest part about being mayor of a growing county like this?
It is a very rewarding job from a standpoint of trying to work with all 210,000 plus people who live here. But that too is the challenge. Some want no growth, some want moderate growth, but my whole philosophy has been realizing that, as I said before, government does not create jobs but is a conduit. Working with other cities, is a rewarding challenge, because we all have jurisdictional issues- being sure we know what is going on, and trying to solve those needs by balancing what we have and maintaining the things that make Williamson County popular- quality schools, job opportunities. No one is ever happy about having to look at additional sources of revenue, fees, taxes and or cutting services, but you cannot provide the things that make us popular at the same level as you have in the past, while you continue to grow, unless you raise new funds or do away with services. And no one wants that. You can tweak and tweak things, but at the end of the day it costs money to grow.
What is the best part about being mayor?
It is the challenge- it is seeing your community grow from what it was to where we are today, and being involved in the decision-making and realizing, yeah, you will make mistakes but you will be able to correct those. It is working with the state and federal officials, and the local commissions and aldermen- the self-satisfaction of seeing where we are today and where we used to be, and realizing you were a small piece of it. When I got into politics in 1986 as a county commissioner it was about helping improve educations- and 30 years later I am still doing that today. The tire is only flat on the bottom, so you keep pressure on all points with conflicting views and opinions, and differing philosophies, but everyone is working toward the same goal.
In my opinion, this county is a snapshot of so many things that are good, but also so many challenges. For me it is about recognizing we have to be able to address the challenges, because no one has a crystal ball where they can say what the next five or ten years will bring.
Most of us think about a time that was, and we live in a time that is, and we want a time that might be.
[scroller style=”sc1″ title=”More Interviews” title_size=”17″ number_of_posts=”4″ speed=”300″]
