On Tuesday afternoon county Mayor Rogers Anderson spent forty-five minutes telling a packed crowd of more than 500 at the Franklin Marriott about the state of the county.
Mayor since 2002, Anderson’s speech focused on schools, safety, jobs, health care quality of life and traffic, among other subjects. He pointed out keystone achievements of the past year, and challenges the county faces- with a rapidly increasing population- in the coming years.
His first comments lauded the efforts of county leaders in passing a $515 million budget earlier this month, in order to fund the increasing needs of a growing county.
“Today we want to talk about quality of life issues,” he said, showing a slide that had headings of schools, jobs, traffic and crime, among others.
Schools came up first, with Anderson pointing out that nearly 62 percent of the budget goes to funding them. He said that number increases when accounting for debt service.
“75 cents of every dollar we get goes back into the quality of education here in Williamson County,” he said. “All of our schools are the driving force for the growth we have here in our county.”
He said that markers of the growth in schools are in the numbers: The 37,000 students from last year will increase by 1,800 in the coming year, and three new schools will open in the Nolensville area this fall.
Next he touched on population growth, moving into the challenges it brings, that the government and county must tackle.
Since the 2010 census, Anderson said, 72 percent of the state’s growth has occurred in middle Tennessee. Davidson County saw the greatest increase in the number of residents, but Williamson and Rutherford Counties had the highest percentage change in growth.
Over the next 10 years, population in ages 0-4 will increase 33 percent, ages 20-39 by 25 percent and ages 65 and older by 53 percent.
Part of the rising population is because of the increase in job opportunities. Employment in the middle-Tennessee region grew by 19 percent from 2010 to 2015.
Williamson County employment, specifically, grew by 29 percent.
In the past 12 months, 23 companies relocated here, adding 2,254 jobs- 200 a month- representing a total investment of $451 million in the county.
“Since I have been in office I have always shown my support for job creation in our community, to be able to sustain a quality of life that we enjoy here, government must continue to be a conduit for the business community to be able to provide good, quality and high-paying jobs in our community for our children and our grandchildren,” Anderson said.
We often think of new businesses in our job growth, he said, but let’s not forget bout reinvestment by existing communities, such as the expansion of the Galleria Mall.
The real gems in the crown, he said, are that in the last year Williamson County ranked No. 1 in having the highest percentage of job growth among similar counties in the country, and that it has an unemployment rate of 2.1- one of the lowest in the state.
And the jobs are high-quality employment, he said. Of the 6,000 employers in the county, that includes the corporate headquaters for 40 companies and 12 of the 25 largest publicly traded companies in the middle-Tennessee area, including Nos. 1-5 and 7 of the top 10 of Inc. Magazines top 5,000 list. Also, 33 percent of the fastest growing companies in the state are here in Williamson County.
But with the rising population and increasing job opportunities, comes traffic. He hit on that next.
“We are working to find solutions for our traffic problem here in Williamson County, but the solutions are not possible without each of us doing what we can do to solve it,” he said.
He brought up the Williamson Inc.-organized Mobility Week and last year’s transportation summit, but said nothing will happen without the business community’s participation. He said the county recently conducted a study on major corridors in the county, and the Highway Commission is currently addressing how to implement the recommended plans.
Next, he spoke about the county’s low crime rate, another quality of life marker that makes living here desirable. He lauded the County’s Sheriff’s Department for continuing to do a good job.
Last, he brought up the future. In the next year, the county plans to open a new Animal Control facility. But there are challenges, and needs that need to be addressed in the coming year.
We need a new jail, and a new juvenile facility, he said. He said to keep an eye on a coming Educational Impact Fee to pay for new schools and a coming I-65 Interchange on Buckner Road in Spring Hill.
“We have a lot to be thankful for,” he said.
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