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-Information courtesy Jordan McMillen, Vance County Manager

The Vance County Board of Commissioners met at Perry Memorial Library on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, for the first of two planned retreat days designed to assist with the review of current plans and development of new goals for the coming fiscal year.

Below are the commissioners’ goals from last year’s retreat which were reviewed:

1. To move forward expeditiously with acquiring, designing, and renovating former Eaton-Johnson to include exploring alternative financing opportunities to house the Department of Social Services, Senior Center and other departments as space allows.
2. To provide the necessary funding and support to improve fire response county-wide with the idea of reducing response times and assisting departments with lowering ISO ratings to create savings for our citizens.
3. To create additional jobs and investment through supporting existing businesses, finalizing Phase III of the Henderson-Vance Industrial Park and marketing available buildings.
4. To provide support and complete the broadband planning process by selecting an internet service provider company in order to provide affordable broadband to the unserved and underserved areas of the County while also providing an alternative service for our citizens.
5. Explore ways to clean up and address trash throughout the county.
6. To continue addressing public health and wellbeing with an emphasis on substance use disorder and mental health.

Coming out of day one of the retreat, each commissioner will be submitting their top goals for the upcoming year. Our plan is to come back on February 10 and work on creating and prioritizing new goals for the coming fiscal year. We also intend to begin looking at budget impacts as well as our capital improvement program during day two of the retreat.

Overall, today went well and there were a few topics that bubbled to the surface. There was good discussion on the need for a community paramedicine program within our EMS department, and there was discussion on the need for addressing employee pay to ensure we stay competitive with our surrounding counties.