Looking Ahead

If I have the opportunity to serve as County Commissioner, one of my priorities will be making sure we are not simply managing the next budget year.

I want Strafford County to look further ahead.

I would like to work collaboratively with the Commissioners, County Delegation, county employees, municipal leaders and the public to bring the pieces of our existing planning together into a more comprehensive County Master Plan.

But I don’t want a feel-good stack of paper.

I want a living, working document that tells us where we are, where we are going and what we need to get there.

Understand Every Department

That means understanding each department — what it does today, the challenges it faces, its goals and what it anticipates needing in the next 24 months, five years and ten years.

It also means revisiting the County’s Capital Improvement Program and developing a project matrix so anticipated projects, costs, funding sources and timelines can be seen together.

Plan Countywide

Strafford County is 13 communities.

Long-range planning should not stop at the County Complex. I want a comprehensive countywide survey and meaningful public participation so we hear from the people who live in those communities, not only elected officials.

Plan for Riverside’s Future

Riverside Rest Home should be an important part of that long-range conversation.

I support Riverside and want us planning responsibly for its future — its services, staffing, facility needs, capital investments and the people who will depend upon it in the years ahead.

Make the Plan Useful

Once the work is completed, I would like to see it presented publicly to the Commissioners and Delegation for consideration, in whole or in part, as a tool in future budget and capital planning.

And then we keep using it.

We measure progress. We update it. We change it when circumstances change. We ask whether we accomplished what we said we would accomplish.

Staying Connected

Planning also means listening.

I intend to regularly visit the communities I represent in District 1 — not only when there is a problem or when an election is approaching.

I want to hear directly from municipal officials and residents about what is happening in their communities, where County services intersect with local needs, and what they believe County government should understand.

County government should not be something that happens only at the County Complex.