Committed to Making Dearborn County Better

Committed to Making Dearborn County Better

By: Kevin Lynch, Candidate for Dearborn County Commissioner District #1

What does Kevin Lynch stand for and how can he make Dearborn County better?

Since starting my campaign for County Commissioner, District #1, I have met and visited with thousands of Dearborn County residents and if I spoke with you, you know the answer to this question. For those of you that I have not yet had an opportunity to meet and speak with here it is.

From the very beginning, I have been consistent in my message…. My professional experience and small business background provide the right conservative leadership for a better future. I believe that we can have a better future by supporting public safety, helping to promote job growth and keeping taxes low.

Promoting Job Growth………………

First off let me say that we are very fortunate to have Hollywood Casino and the revenue sharing agreement, so wisely negotiated by the City of Lawrenceburg, years ago. We have accomplished so many projects and made great strides in areas that would have never been possible or even dreamed of prior to the Riverboat Era.

Improvements in roads, utilities, fire and public safety matters have helped to improve our quality of life in Dearborn County. These are some of the items that companies and developers look at when considering a new location. Having Ivy Tech as part of our community gives our residents a unique and viable opportunity to gain the knowledge and specific work skills required in today’s world. The Dearborn County Redevelopment Commission and Dearborn County Economic Initiative have worked hard promoting Dearborn County not just in our area but to regional and national associations. You probably have heard one of the commercials on the radio speaking to a recent success. These groups have also established and built upon relationships with the state agencies also working on promoting job growth throughout Indiana. Through a unique partnership with the Dearborn County Economic Initiative and State of Indiana, Ivy Tech has and continues to work with companies and businesses to provide training programs specific to their individual needs. In this way, our local workforce is gaining the skills and training needed for employment. One of these most recent successes is with IntraPac, a new company to our county which I toured earlier this year. In cooperation with IntraPac, Ivy Tech has provided the training for over 30 local residents giving them the skills need to obtain employment.

In the not to distance past, it seemed that everyone had a friend, relative or neighbor that worked for Seagram’s Distillery or Thatcher Glass. It was not unusual to get a job with one of these companies right out of high school and work your whole career, earning a good wage and upon retirement a nice pension. We have all seen the gradual decline of the large manufacturing industry and we know those opportunities are all but gone.

I believe that everything has a life cycle and I believe that in order to make Dearborn County better we must develop a diversified economic base. In my opinion, we need to use revenue from the Riverboat to attract new businesses to our community. Not to say that I believe in development just for the sake of development. The crucial part of this process is finding the right company or business and placing them in the right place in our county. Proper financial analysis of the company and industry in general help us in the decision process. But we must also evaluate if this company is in the mature or growth stage of its lifecycle? Is the company’s philosophy in line with Dearborn County? Our county has many natural resources, characteristics and charm that, I imagine, is the reason a lot of us live in this area. We must ensure that we find the right company that will enhance our counties charm and not hinder or even destroy it. Finding the right fit are decisions we make every day in of our individual lives and as a county we must also make these decisions as well. Not just for the present but for the future of Dearborn County. We must ask ourselves, “What do we want Dearborn County to be 30–50 years from now? “ What is the highest and best use of this property?” Access to Interstate highways, railroads and the river make some portions of our county more prone to development than others. However, family farms have always been an integral part of Dearborn County and I see areas with high yielding soils remaining as farm ground for many years if not generations to come. This type of strategic planning is needed to help us layout the plan for a better Dearborn County.

With gaming already approved in Ohio and probably on the horizon in Kentucky, I believe that with this increase in competition that we will see our riverboat revenue decline overtime. In my opinion, we have a limited window of opportunity to take aggressive action needed to grow and attract business to Dearborn County. We must use these funds to invest in our future and make Dearborn County better; it should not be used to pay day to day operating expenses but as an investment in our future. The county has and I hope will continue to support the efforts of these organizations that have taken an active role in making Dearborn County better.

I am very proud of my participation in the Greendale Redevelopment Commission over the past ten years, the Dearborn County Economic Initiative for the past seven years and as Vice President of the Dearborn County Redevelopment Commission for four years. With the help and support of the City of Lawrenceburg, we have worked cooperatively to improve our local workforce, obtain new jobs in our county and help build the foundation for a diversified economic base.

Please visit my website: KevinLynchforCommissioner.com and follow my campaign on Facebook.

Thanks for your support.

Kevin Lynch