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Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham delivered his "State of the County" address Monday to members of the Blount County Chamber of Commerce.

With about 50 people listening, Cunningham spent an hour highlighting progress the county has made over the past year and issues it still faces.

Joking, Cunningham opened his address saying, "When I left the office this morning, there were no picketers -- and you still have fluoride in your water."

Through his presentation, Cunningham discussed tourism, economic development, open government, the county's growth and finances.

Cunningham told those in attendance that he and Finance Director Dave Bennett had been working hard on the budget, and it looks as though there won't be a need for a property tax increase this year.

"I remember when President George H.W. Bush said, 'Read my lips, no new taxes," and I remember where that got him -- so I'm not ready to say that, but it doesn't look like we'll need to raise taxes."

Cunningham said the county's financial situation "frightened" him when he took office -- and that the general fund was down to just $800,000. He said the general fund now has over $3 million and should be around $6 million by the end of this year.

"Every department turned money back into the general fund from their own individual departments," Cunningham said. "Your elected officials and department heads rose to the occasion."

According to the mayor's presentation, the debt services fund, which helps the county obtain credit, now has $8 million and the general services school fund has almost $6 million, which will allow the county to open and staff the county's new schools.

"Sometimes the county is viewed as being behind the cities," Cunningham said. "But our bond ratings are better than Alcoa and Maryville and we're not having a tax increase."

Cunningham said Blount County now owes $190 million -- which includes two new school buildings, but not the $14 million elementary school. He estimated that the county could be out of debt in 15 years.

Commenting on public meetings, Cunningham said, "About all you hear at meetings is negative and misleading comments -- but there's a lot of good in Blount County.

"We welcome input, and the government needs to listen -- not just to the people born here, but the new people who moved here, too.

"There's a mind-set that business here is done by good old boys in dark, smoke-filled back rooms, and it's going to take a while for us to change that, but we're trying to make government as open and transparent as possible.

"Openness drives accountability and we're going to keep it open and look for ways to make it more open."

Fast growth rate

Cunningham said that while Tennessee grew at a rate of 6 percent, Blount County grew at a rate of 11 percent since the last census. He said the county was becoming more diverse and that created an opportunity for Blount County to learn how things are done elsewhere.

The mayor said for every dollar the county spends on economic development, it gets a $15 return in revenue and a $1,300 boost to resident's personal income. He said 12,511 jobs had been created by the Industrial Development board and more than $636 million had been generated for the county.

"Much of my high school class left this area because there wasn't any opportunity," Cunningham said. "We're creating opportunities through growth -- and it's good, clean growth.

"We've turned some businesses that approached us away because we don't want chimneys belching out black smoke."

Tourism contributed 850 jobs to Blount County according to Cunningham, and $201,000 is spent in the county by tourists every day. Hotels and motels contributed $1.5 million last year, a 6 percent increase.

"I love this county and I have no other agenda," Cunningham said. "I want Blount County to be a better place for my children and grandchildren."