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ISSUES
SUPPORT FOR SAFETY
Bring fire, EMS, and local leaders together to build the shared resources that keep communities safe.
Help communities that choose to pursue joint fire districts get the technical, legal, and financial support to make it work.
Establish a standing Fire and EMS Collaboration Council so chiefs, township officials, EMS providers, dispatch, and county finance staff have one consistent table to plan around.
Support neutral, third-party feasibility studies so communities exploring shared staffing or joint districts have clear, objective data.
Offer targeted grants that reward departments for training together, buying equipment jointly, and standardizing protocols, so no community goes without because it’s small.
SMART GROWTH & LOCAL PROTECTIONS
Require fiscal and infrastructure impact analysis for large-scale developments.
Fully account for impacts on roads, bridges, utilities, emergency services, and long-term maintenance costs.
Prioritize growth that makes efficient use of existing infrastructure and minimizes long-term public liability.
Oppose development patterns that generate short-term revenue but long-term public expense.
Seek clear agreements so new growth does not shift infrastructure and service costs onto existing residents.
Prioritize maintenance and reinvestment in existing infrastructure before expanding outward.
Provide county-level planning, engineering, and fiscal analysis to townships and municipalities when requested.
Help local leaders evaluate complex or fast-moving proposals while preserving local control.
Ensure local officials have the information needed to make decisions that reflect their community’s priorities.
Support early and meaningful public input on major development proposals.
Ensure residents have access to clear, understandable information about fiscal, infrastructure, and service impacts.
Promote open decision-making processes that build public trust and accountability.
Partner with residents for input and ideas by holding Quarterly Community Conversations around the county.
Encourage development that aligns with workforce availability, infrastructure capacity, water and energy use, and public safety resources.
Respect community priorities, environmental considerations, and quality of life.
Promote countywide and regional planning to address shared challenges.
Encourage cooperation among communities to strengthen long-term fiscal health and infrastructure stability.
Avoid competition between communities that undermines long-term fiscal health and infrastructure stability.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
Prioritize the use of carryover funds and reserves for capital improvements, infrastructure needs, and technology modernization.
Avoid reliance on one-time funds for recurring operating expenses.
Maintain healthy reserves to protect taxpayers from emergencies, economic downturns, and sudden tax increases.
Treat cybersecurity as a core component of responsible financial stewardship.
Invest in prevention measures, system redundancy, and staff training to reduce risk.
Support regular risk assessments and cost-benefit analyses for major IT systems and upgrades to prevent high cost failures.
Develop a multi-year funding strategy for bridges, roads, and county facilities.
Address maintenance proactively so small issues do not become costly emergencies.
Coordinate county investments with available state and federal funding programs to maximize impact.
Support economic development strategies that broaden and stabilize the county tax base.
Reduce pressure on residential taxpayers by growing commercial and industrial investment responsibly.
Use cost-benefit and return-on-investment analysis when evaluating tax incentives.
Favor incentives that are performance-based, time-limited, and tied to measurable outcomes.
Encourage coordination with employers, schools, and regional partners on workforce development.
Establish clear, objective criteria for what constitutes a responsible bidder.
Award contracts based on demonstrated ability to deliver quality work on time and on budget.
Use prequalification standards that consider experience, financial capacity, safety record, and past performance.
Support reporting practices that ensure compliance with tax and labor laws.
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
Bring residents into the process from day one, with real hearings and real answers when concerns are raised.
Ensure transparency on any project that affects our communities. No closed-door NDAs, ever.
Host Quarterly Community Conversations countywide, so residents have a standing voice in county government.
Build a public track record of how and why decisions get made, so trust is earned, not assumed.
INVESTING IN OUR COUNTY
Fix our roads and bridges with a funded, multi-year plan, not another year of deferral.
Fund a real capital plan for Wood Haven Health Care, so residents in rooms unchanged since 1971 get the modern, dignified care they’ve already earned.
Support partnerships between schools, colleges, and local employers to create clear career pathways.
Encourage internships, apprenticeships, and workforce training programs that help graduates stay in Wood County.
Promote quality-of-life investments that make Wood County a place people of all ages choose to build their futures.
End years of stalled studies on the county highway garage and move forward with a fiscally responsible plan, before more delay turns a $20 million fix into an even bigger price tag.
Hold every county asset to the same standard: a public plan and a timeline, not just a line item in the budget.
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