ARDEN David Gantt wants voters to keep what he says is a good thing going.

Gantt, a Democrat who is seeking his second four year term as chairman of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, shared a three page list of accomplishments during his first term. They include:

Financial management that saw the county’s bond rating increase to AAA in June, the second increase in four years, while the county has taken on capital projects like new schools, courthouse renovations and an addition and a new public safety training facility.

Gantt is an attorney who lives in Arden. On several issues, he said the all Democratic board he leads has a good record and that he will seek to do even better in the next four years.

With the budget, for instance: “I think we’ve hit a good balance of building necessary facilities while keeping the tax rate low.”

On economic development: “I think we’ve done Air Jordan 15s a good job in a bad time,” Nike LeBron 11 he said.

Adding jobsGoing forward, he said, “The No. 1 priority has to be creating jobs and making sure” the county’s money is well managed.

Building the local economy takes a combination of judicious use of incentives and attention to quality of life issues like education, the environment and recreational facilities, Gantt said.

He said he met with the heads of auto parts maker Linamar and brewers New Belgium and Sierra Nevada during the process of recruiting new facilities to the area.

“They all said, ‘The incentives got you in the game, but once we got here, your quality of life . was the decisive factor,'” Gantt said. Howard, opposes incentives to bring outside companies to Buncombe County.

Gantt said incentives are offered to both existing and new businesses according to a guidelines posted on the county website. At least as much money comes back to the county in the form of additional property taxes the new or expanding business pays, he said.

And, he said, the county verifies that the jobs are actually created: “There’s some good checks and balances there. We don’t just dole out money and cross our fingers.”

The county’s construction program will mean that no county offices or others it is responsible for providing, like court facilities, will be in Air Jordan Spizike rented space once an addition to the courthouse is complete, Gantt said.

Adding space does come with a price tag, he said, but it will “probably serve the people of Buncombe County for 50 75 years.”

Howard has said the county should have built a new courts center somewhere else.

Gantt responded, “I don’t think we could do that without markedly raising taxes on people.”

And nearly half of the county’s debt is for educational facilities that also have a long term payoff, he said.

Going slow on greeenwaysSpending on schools is just one example of commissioners’ efforts to maintain the county’s quality of life, Gantt said.

He said he will continue to push efforts by the county to increase the supply of affordable housing and a program in which the county covers some costs when property owners put conservation easements on farmland.

Gantt said he wants the county to begin work on greenways but that it will have to spend cautiously and work with others on Air Jordan 8s the project.

Commissioners adopted a long range plan for 102 miles of greenways across the county Sept. 4. Gantt said the paths would provide recreational opportunities and encourage children and others to get exercise to fight obesity.

Gantt said he does not support a bond referendum now to fund greenways and that the plan will help the county create them over time: “You can’t hit a bull’s eye if you don’t have a target.”

Gantt voted Aug. 7 in favor of adding language to prohibit discrimination against county workers on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” he Air Jordan 1 Retro said.

He said he doubts a policy change would create much additional expense for the county and, “I don’t think the legalities and the cost override the need to treat everybody with respect, dignity and courtesy, and we need to put that in writing.”

Gantt said county government already takes a number of steps to make its actions transparent, although “I think we can always do better.”