Lashlee reflects on his term as mayor

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At the end of business on Wednesday, Aug. 31, Mayor Brett Lashlee will depart the office of Benton County Mayor to return to private life. His four-year term has been an eventful one for the county, from natural disasters to the pandemic to political conflict.

On the eve of his departure from office, Dylan Powley sat down with Lashlee to ask a few questions about his thoughts about the past four years. Lashlee was thoughtful and eager to reflect on his term.

First, Powley asked Lashlee what accomplishments he is most proud of during his tenure as Benton County Mayor? 

A lot of the accomplishments are ones that the public really doesn’t see, such as restructuring the ways our county operates and conducts business. 

I have always said that we have to become a community that stays in front of change, not behind it. Change is constant, and Benton County is years behind in many aspects. Our neighbors are not waiting on Benton County to catch up, so we have to change our mindset to embrace our future. We vastly have to improve infrastructure to attract and keep businesses as well as citizens. I believe we got the ball rolling on that kind of change during my term.

We ushered in “the digital age” to county operations, upgrading systems to incorporate more online use. We brought in live coverage of county meetings via the internet. Commissioners use computers when voting and conducting county meetings. We now provide real-time emergency alerts to citizens via phone and social media. Our new county webpage is one built for citizen interaction and capable of growing its resources over time. This will be ongoing, but use of digital resources is something we were many years behind on.

We changed how we populate community and legislative boards and committees. These boards are very impactful on moving a county forward. When I came in, there were boards that literally just had names on paper of folks who would never show up, some even were deceased! I believe we have to engage our citizenry and put them in positions to usher in action and effort. We accomplished this, especially with our Industrial, Tourism/TRRD, and Solid Waste Boards. 

To promote community engagement, we conducted regular “Town Hall” meetings with our citizens. Although we had to go digital for a time due to COVID, we still were able to hold over 20 live meetings. This had not been done before and I encourage elected officials to embrace such connections.

Financially we are on solid ground and probably have realized the best four years of growth in county history. Being a lower economic tier county will always bring financial challenges, but we stabilized our spending and allowed for revenues to catch up. We balanced the budget all four years without having to pull from our savings to make ends meet. We even managed a property tax decrease, maybe the only one in county history. At the same time, we saw property values grow to surpass our governmental financial needs. 

We paid off nearly all of our county debt in the last four years and what debt we’ve taken on is now less than 10 years until full maturity. Our revenues in every category of taxes have been at record levels. Our retail economy remains strong and our industrial economy has weathered COVID and the recent slowdowns.

Next, Powley asked Lashlee what he saw as the biggest challenges experienced in his term? 

We all managed to make it through my four years and come out okay in the end, but there were several challenges I had not anticipated when taking office in 2018.

The biggest challenge was to change the mindset about keeping things the same. Many simply were not prepared to move forward. Property values and our younger population overall had been declining until my term. When you looked around, what we were doing wasn’t working. Times aren’t great for everyone with so many empty buildings and closed businesses. When our wages are much lower than they should be, that doesn’t attract and keep young people here. Although we seniors consider this a great place to live, our youth do not. 

A huge complication to bringing change is so many of our adults are on limited or fixed incomes. How do you attract fire, safety, and medical personnel to a community with a population of limited financial resources? I believe my efforts took all of this into account and placed us on a solid path going forward.

Personally, my biggest challenge was being called into military service in Africa for 11 months during my term. It was the first time in Tennessee history that the lead official in county government was deployed, so there was no template to follow. It pretty much brought death to many capital projects we had put forward, such as the Ag Center and Farmers Market, County Annex, and some other goals. 

Having to watch from afar as projects were dismantled was frustrating, but that’s politics and life. You just have to move on. Personally, experiencing the death of my mother and uncle, missing my wedding anniversary and birthdays, and seeing my wife Joleen having to manage on her own was painful. However, answering the call to duty to serve our country is always rewarding and an honor. 

COVID and the tornado of May 2020 were hard, and there were other weather disasters we responded to. I’m not sure our county has ever had five natural disasters in a four-year period before. There simply is no way I can articulate the stress and complications these things bring. We let the experts and first responders do their jobs, we kept the public informed, and we managed through the obstacles one by one, but it did make for some sleepless nights.

Powley next asked Lashlee what plans does he have for the future? Where does he anticipate working in the years to come?

I am blessed to have acquired and experienced a very diverse professional background. My recent passion has centered around public service and administration. Educationally, I am well-qualified with degrees in financial management, accounting, and public administration. 

Militarily, I have been trained and conducted many duties in the field of acquisition, contracting, and logistics. Additionally, I have knowledge of the compliance and regulatory fields from my years as an Inspector General Assistant. There are options there. 

I think my biggest challenge is deciding on the career path I want to follow the next 10 years. When I do, I expect something to be there when I make a move. I know I will land a good job somewhere when I hit the job recruitment portals. 

I still have bills to pay of course, so I can’t sit around too long, but right now I have put out inquiries and sought guidance of a large network of friends and associates. Wherever the Good Lord leads me, who I believe has guided me all my life, I will follow.

Finally, Powley asked Lashlee what are his hopes for the future of Benton County?

I hope the industrial and economic development efforts currently at play in the county will come to fruition. The option to purchase the Gerald Smith tract of 555 acres just west of Camden is one of the most impactful decisions the county has ever made. I believe the next year will see the acquisition of that property. We also have a major deal being structured at the current industrial park which I believe will happen, but the Gerald Smith tract is paramount to our county’s future. We have all the major players onboard to make what can be a premier industrial location. I hope the next administration will continue to move this project forward.

Lastly, I hope to see forward progress and a mindset that we must embrace change, not resist it. We must aggressively pursue economic development and recruitment, and seek quality-of-life improvements such as parks, governmental and community use facilities, sidewalks and roads, internet, and digital platforms. Benton County has to welcome this mindset if we are to keep and attract citizens who will move the county forward. 

If as a county we cannot embrace progress, no one should complain when they see low wages, empty buildings, high unemployment, and no viable economic future for our youth. If we don’t get on the front end of change then we will always be reacting to it, always behind the times! 

Our county’s economic future is like a locomotive on a railroad track – just get it moving in the right direction and the momentum will carry it forward from there. If there is a lasting legacy for me in Benton County, I hope it’s that I helped get Benton County moving forward toward a brighter future.

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