STATE OF THE COUNTY 2015

The following is the text of Chairman Tom Worthans address to the

residents of Douglas County (source: Douglas County government):
Each year, it is tradition for the Chairman of the Board of
Commissioners to present the State of the County.
This tradition rises from the requirement in the United States
Constitution that mandates that the President periodically give
Congress information on the State of the Union, and recommend any
measures believed to be necessary and expedient. The world has
vastly changed since George Washington delivered the First State of
the Union on January 8th, 1790. Through much of the last 225 years,
speeches were the major source of providing this information.
Today, we embrace and use multiple forms of communication,
including television, e-mail, social media, web sites, and print media.
This State of the County is being broadcast on dctv23; will be posted
onCelebrateDouglasCounty.com and on our Facebook page; will be
printed in Chapel Hill News and Views; will be given to both local
newspapers; and will be e-mailed to the readers of Douglas County
Happenings.
Communications demystifies the world of government, and that has
been a major focus of Douglas County government over the past few
years.
I have now held 80 monthly Chats with the Chairman - open forums
held in neighborhood fire stations with any citizen who wants to talk
about any topic. We broadcast every Commission meeting live - and
therefore, unedited - so you can see us at work and hear our
decisions. We simulcast every Commission meeting live on the
Internet, so that anyone with a computer or a smart phone can also
witness government at work. The County web site with an abundance
of information had over 4 million hits last year. Douglas County
Happenings is issued weekly, and our Facebook page - which is
updated daily and as news breaks - has thousands of viewers.

We keep you informed through multiple media all year long, but I am
taking this opportunity to briefly look back, take stock, and look
forward.
The major story of 2014 was the Service Delivery Strategy.
Service Delivery Strategy is a negotiation required by Georgia law
that gives local governments the opportunity to reach agreement on
the provision of services in the most efficient and cost-effective
manner to citizens. The process is designed to remove duplication of
effort. There are certain services that cities are required to provide,
and certain ones that counties must supply. Most of these do not
cross over into the other ones domain. However, fire services and
animal control services do.
We were successful in our negotiations for tax equity. County
residents receive services they pay for, and City residents receive
services they pay for. We have implemented a strict accounting
system that ensures this.
The cities of Austell, Douglasville and Villa Rica will each be paying
Douglas County for animal control services. Austell has its own fire
department, but Douglasville and Villa Rica will be paying Douglas
County for fire services within their city limits. Each city had an option
to provide these services themselves or with a different provider, but
realized it was more cost-efficient to pay Douglas County for them.
The Service Delivery Strategy agreement remains effective for ten
years.
One of the other aspects of the agreement is that Douglas County will
add certain City of Douglasville streets into the County system for
operation and maintenance. The City of Douglasville does not have a
Department of Transportation so this makes logical sense. As part of
this, Douglas County will be adding 7 miles of conduit and fiber optic
communication cable to connect 24 traffic signals into our existing
Intelligent Transportation System.
Our ITS is a computer-based network that can help us help you by
easing traffic congestion through interconnecting and monitoring
traffic signals. Advanced applications let the signals talk to each

other so that traffic flows more smoothly. We will have a total of 69

traffic signals and 9 school zone flasher devices in the system by the
end of 2015.
In another aspect of transportation, our Rideshare program started its
transportation voucher program last year for senior adults and the
disabled. These provide quality of life trips designed to get these
residents out of the house and to a doctors appointment, the mall,
the grocery store, movies, or to see friends and family. This program
prevents folks who have little or no other transportation options from
becoming prisoners in their own homes.
Douglas County is the only County in the State of Georgia to operate
its own Rideshare program, and we are very proud of its record.
We are also proud of our safety record. Your safety is our primary
concern.
Our Sheriffs Department reported a 31 percent increase in Driving
Under the Influence arrests last year. That keeps our roads safer.
There were 7 murders in our County last year, but all of them were
solved. We expanded our K9 Unit, bringing in a specially trained
Springer Spaniel who has a nose for synthetic drugs. The driving
simulator was upgraded; we obtained four Humvees out of military
surplus; and housing Fulton County inmates while their jail is being
renovated added a boost to our budget.
Our Fire and Emergency Services Department answered more calls
in 2014 than ever before, an average of two per hour, 24 hours a day,
365 days a year. 9-1-1 answered a call on average every 27 seconds
all year long.
We had two winter storms and a tornado threat that activated our
Emergency Operations Center with dedicated staff staying on duty 24
hours per day until the emergency passed, and then working long
hours to clean up the aftermath. We updated our weather warning
software so that our 36 sirens are automatically activated by the
National Weather Service, saving seconds when they most count. We
also trained our emergency staffs to handle the Ebola infection, and
are grateful that we so far havent had to use it.

Our Parks and Recreation Programs had record attendance. We

started partnering with outside professionals to expand the quality,
quantity and subject matter of our recreation programs. Our Special
Olympics program was named the outstanding local program of the
year in the State.
Christie Mills was named Outstanding Local Coordinator of the Year
for Special Olympics.
Todd Cowan was named Tax Commissioner of the Year in the State.
Gary Watson was named Transit Manager of the Year, and
Judge Peggy Walker was elected President of the National Council of
Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
We have a great record on which to build.
We are optimistic because we have laid the groundwork for optimism.
In the past few years, we have developed a Comprehensive
Transportation Plan, the Unified Development Code, and the Land
Use Plan. We have planned for success. We know where we want to
go.
So now its time to shift our focus to the future and make these plans
a reality.
Transportation will continue to be of major concern for a long time to
come. We not only will be looking at road and bridge infrastructure,
but we will also be looking at better ways to get you where you need
to go. This year, we will be conducting a Transportation Services
Study to become our blueprint for the types of public transportation
services we will need to move forward.
One of our major transportation issues is that 62% of our residents
commute outside of Douglas County to work; 79% of our residents
drive to work alone. We must continue to create good paying jobs
locally so our residents do not have to spend their time and money
driving to and from employment. Again, its a quality of life issue.
Jobless rates are falling, but we need to continue to create
opportunities for people still struggling to make ends meet. Last year,
Keurig Green Mountain announced 550 jobs; ResMed announced 80
jobs; and Coloplast announced 30 jobs. We are actively recruiting

others, and are hoping to make more new job creation

announcements this year.
We will continue to make sure our residents are safe. We have highly
professional and talented law enforcement, prosecutors, firefighters,
emergency medical, and emergency management personnel.
We will build a new animal shelter this year that has been so badly
needed for so long. We will pave another 23 miles of roads. We will
replace worn-out Sheriffs patrol vehicles, Rideshare vans, and a fire
truck.
Home prices are rebounding. Revenues are slightly up. We budgeted
conservatively during the recession and we will continue to do so.
There will be no tax increase from County government this year. We
will continue to live within our means. By doing so, we have attained
a desirable bond rating of AA from Standard & Poors Rating
Services. Higher bond ratings can result in lower interest rates on
borrowed money since ratings are an indication of credit quality and
worthiness.
We have no long-term debt, so why do we worry about our bond
rating? You work to improve your credit score. Our bond rating is the
Countys credit score. In addition to credit worthiness, it speaks
volumes to business and industry looking for a place to locate. A
county that has proven strong budgetary performance and a history
of accountable financial policies and practices will attract responsible
industries that will bring jobs and investment.
It all works together.
We must, however, fund some greatly needed capital improvements.
Roads and bridges need repair. Streets need paving. Fire trucks and
ambulances must be replaced. These are expensive items. One
ladder truck for the Fire Department could cost close to $1 million. We
are doing what we can out of the General Fund budget, but we cant
do as much as we need from that source, and Federal and State
dollars are rapidly drying up.
Therefore, we may come to you later this year and ask that you
consider a continuation of the current one-cent special purpose local

option sales tax when the current one expires in July 2016. If we do,
we will ask you where the funds should be spent, and your
suggestions will be seriously considered.
There is one thing that I want if a new SPLOST is approved by the
voters. I want it to be structured to be pay as we go as much as
possible, so that we dont have to borrow money and use some of the
proceeds to pay interest even though we have a great bond rating
and will have a very low interest rate.
Communication is the factor, and communication is the State of our
County.
You talk to us, and we will listen. We may not agree on everything but
we will talk about it. Sometimes we may have to agree to disagree.
We will continue to talk to you, too,
in person
by telephone
on television
with facebook
via e-mail
and we may even join Twitter this year.
William Channing once said the job of government is not to confer
happiness but to give people the opportunity to be happy, and thats
what we are trying to do with your help.
Thanks for listening.