Public Input into King George County's New Mission and Vision Statement Has Not Been Sought
Board will consider adopting the statements, which were drafted by a supervisor, at the next meeting.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Email Adele
The King George Board of Supervisors is considering adopting a mission and vision statement for the county that was drafted by one of the supervisors without input from the community.
Supervisor Kenneth Stroud, the James Madison district representative, drafted the proposed new mission and vision statement and introduced it at the Board of Supervisors meeting on November 19.
Stroud said he sent the proposed statement to his colleagues on the board “a few weeks ago.” He said he had incorporated their feedback into the current draft and asked the board to “take a vote on this to approve it” that evening.
The proposed vision statement is, “To promote general welfare by maintaining a rural county where all citizens can enjoy freedom and prosperity with limited government intrusion.”
The proposed mission statement is “to create and maintain a responsive local government that promotes rural life, civic engagement, fiscal responsibility, and economic vitality.”
It continues, “We aim to protect our community, preserve our heritage, and anticipate future needs, as well as opportunities to make King George, Virginia, the best place to live, raise a family, and own a business.”
According to documents on the county’s website, the mission and vision statement for 2018-2023 were developed through “work sessions with stakeholders including the Board of Supervisors, County staff and Constitutional Officers, external regional partners, and citizens.”
The mission statement adopted at that time, according to a February 2018 presentation by Ryan Gandy, then the economic development director, was “King George County will maintain a comprehensive economic development program that encourages controlled development and diverse revenue streams in order to manage our inevitable growth while preserving the historical, cultural, and rural character of our community.”
At the November 19 meeting, Cathy Binder, the Vice Chair and Shiloh district representative, was the only supervisor to express concern about the fact that the proposed mission and vision statement were developed without public input.
“This is a great start, but I think we need a little bit more work on this and further discussion and some citizen input,” she said. “This is a mission statement for the entire county and the five of us should not do 100% of the work.”
Binder was on the board at the time the previous mission and vision statement were adopted and said that was “a public process with the economic development director and several county meetings.”
“There were white boards and sticky notes,” she said. “Shouldn’t this be developed not among us in emails but in the public arena?”
Binder also pointed out that the proposed mission and vision statements contain “terms, but no definition of those terms.”
In response to Binder’s concerns, Stroud said, “We were elected by the citizens to provide a mission and vision statement and that’s what I’m doing.”
Chair T.C. Collins pressed Binder to state what specifically she would change about Stroud’s proposed statements.
“Is this not what the citizens want?” he asked. “It appears that it is from everything I know in my core.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with this and I think it should be up for action next month,” Collins continued.
Binder said she knew her position would be “controversial” among her board colleagues but continued to press for citizen input into the process.
“Yes, we are elected by the citizens on a mandate or whatever it is, but the citizens have a right to have a say in this also, in a public process.”
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