DISTRICT 8 INCUMBENT MICHAEL RAYBURN
What are the key issues facing Miller County today?
One of the key issues we face is having to ship juveniles out of the County due to our JDC being closed. While I understand the reasons that it was done, I think the State needs to help countries like ours by trying to either build more localized State facilities, or work with counties to find a better solution that we can implement.
Another issue we continue to face is lower tax revenue being that we are a border city/county. With most of the larger businesses on the Texas side, we don’t receive nearly the revenue that other counties our size across the state do, so we have to be ever more vigilant on what we spend money on. Our future generations depend on us being frugal with our resources.
Do you feel the state does enough to support rural counties like Miller?
The easy answer is to always say they can do more. I am not in the know as to their budget constraints though, or what their main focus is on for the rest of the state, so I can’t really say if they have done enough or if they could do more. All we can do is communicate with our State Reps and let them know what needs we have and work with them where we can.
Attitudes on the Quorum Court have been combative at several meetings. Why is this? Do you feel these sorts of attitudes are conducive to good governance?
You are always going to have a difference of opinions and attitudes whenever you have a group of people working together. You will always have those that want to be good stewards of the tax dollars we oversee, just as you will always have those that don’t understand how to budget money. One thing I have learned throughout the years is, just because you own a business or you hold title, doesn’t mean you can budget money properly. In the end, we all have to work together and accept that we are each just one vote, and no individual member is any stronger or better than the rest.
How will you support businesses and development in Miller County?
The Quorum Court does a good job helping businesses and development where we can, and I believe we will continue to do so going forward. We are limited due to budget restraints on some things, but I think that where we can help, we do, and we will continue to.