By Barbara Augsdorfer, Editor for the Herald
Councilmember Michelle Taylor is running for re-election to the Rincon City Council. She has joined with challengers Brandy Riley and Mona Underwood who are trying to unseat incumbents Patrick Kirkland and Reese Browher. Taylor, Riley, and Underwood submitted the following joint statement to The Herald:
“We desire a government where everyone’s voice has value. We have a goal to develop a strong sense of community and smart growth that ensures Rincon feels like home! Rincon is growing and we want to ensure we are focusing on all of our citizens’ concerns and goals.
Focus Issues:
“Community involvement: Every citizen’s voice has value! We will hear you! Developing citizen boards to keep your voices front and center is important in creating a vision and a strong sense of community for us all.
“Responsible growth: We promise to work with all agencies necessary to develop answers to the traffic issues which have plagued us for so long. We will work with all our public safety, public works, roads and other departments to ensure they have everything needed to meet the demands our level of growth has placed on them. We promise to focus on the vital role a well-developed zoning and development plan plays in the future of community planning and seeing a strong vision come to life.
“Recreational Facilities: There must be a Parks and Recreation Master Plan. A Master Plan will include recreation sports, walking nature trails, playgrounds and green spaces for all our citizens to enjoy. We will work to fund the Master Plan through Community Improvement District (CID) funds, SPLOST, as well as corporate participation. We will include tin this Master Plan a sustainable plan to get our golf course on a level path for our citizens and visitors to enjoy.
“City Efficiency: By focusing on creating consistent policies and procedures in all departments, we will create the best possible work environment for city employees. Our city employees are some of the best and brightest, a team. We will allow them latitude to use their skills. We will look at security and vetting processes for all city personnel (paid and volunteer) positions. We will provide transparency to our city processes for fully utilizing online capabilities and social media outreach. We will look at cutting red tape to allow small businesses to open in our city without months of back-and-forth with the city.
Together we can build a better Rincon!”
Browher and Kirkland have not yet submitted their answers to the Herald’s questions.
