The Mayors of several southern Wise County cities have formed a coalition to help solve common problems. The Mayors of Aurora, Boyd, Paradise, Rhome, Newark, and New Fairview began meeting together to discuss the options and ramifications of the Wise County Sheriff’s Department plan to charge some cities a usage fee for utilizing county public safety dispatch services. Since Wise County collects a half-cent sales tax from cities, and city property owners pay county taxes, it seems reasonable that county services should be provided to cities as freely and efficiently as the unincorporated county. That, coupled with the fact that the affected cites are already financially challenged by required infrastructure maintenance/upgrades and tight budgets; the threat of paying for dispatch services was simply unacceptable. So this common thread pulled the cities together to find options and form an opposition to the Sheriff’s dispatch payment plan.
The unified and motivated Mayor’s coalition immediately garnered positive results. The WCSO noise of charging cities for dispatch grew less threatening, and finally ceased.
The knowledge that small cities can accomplish more working together was undeniable. Many resources can be shared and partnered. Mutual challenges and problems can be empathetically recognized and solved. With the coalition these cities no longer had to speak or negotiate as an independent island. A municipal support network has formed in southern wise county and it is already serving the needs of communities. A good example of this is New Fairview providing Court services for Boyd. And Boyd is providing Police services to New Fairview. Both cities were challenged in different areas and worked towards a mutually beneficial way of better serving their communities.
One of the most important challenges affecting all cities is water. The Coalition of Mayors wasted no time in working together to find a realistic solution. The formation of a water district was identified as the most viable option to get water. Aurora, Boyd, Rhome, New Fairview, and Wise County have all approved investing $10,000 each to fund legal expenses towards the formation of the water district. This is a dynamic, longterm, regional solution; that is gaining strong support. It’s a tremendous example of what forward thinking municipal leadership and cooperation is all about. Thank You, to the Southern Wise County Coalition of Mayors. You are doing a great job for your communities and citizens.
Special appreciation and thanks to our New Fairview Mayor John Taylor and City Administrator John Cabrales. Both provided inspiration, leadership, trustworthiness, and professionalism needed for the coalition cities to work together as a regional team. I am very proud of the New Fairview civic team. They are the best!