Top priorities identified by county; tax rate topic of conversation

(The Stokes News) - It could be unrealistic to expect no tax increase for the 2008-09 fiscal year, as at least three of the county’s five commissioners pointed out that building new schools and addressing a number of capital needs in the county cannot be done without gaining more revenues.

The commissioners met Saturday for the first of several board retreats they will likely have to prepare for the upcoming budget process and to review last year’s goals and add any new goals to the list.

Public education and the building of new schools was in the top three priorities for all five commissioners, while other top priorities included a community college in the county, a focus on economic development so people won’t have to travel for jobs, high-speed Internet access county-wide to build home-based and small businesses, keeping taxes low, improving employee morale, provide good public services and cost effectively construct new schools.