County Leaders Meet To Discuss Goals For 2023

The Montgomery County Commissioners and the County Council held a joint meeting on Thursday, January 12, 2023. It was the first of many planned meetings between the two boards to facilitate communication and collaboration to benefit the residents and businesses of the County.

The Commissioners and Council members discussed the importance of working together to accomplish the goals of the county. John Frey, President of the Board of Commissioners said “it is important that we trust each other and are transparent in developing our goals.”

The group also discussed the need to retain current residents and attract new residents. “We want to continue to improve the quality of life in our county, so our neighbors want to keep living here and new residents want to move here,” said Commissioner Dan Guard. “It was great to share our vision with the Council members and to keep an open line of communication with each other,” continued Commissioner Guard.

Another important matter discussed was the need to continue to maintain and improve the County roads. “We have been successful in securing State grants over the past few years to repave more of our roads each year and we need to continue to explore all funding options to help our roads,” said Commissioner Jim Fulwider.

Members of the County Council expressed their thoughts regarding the meeting:

David Hunt, Council President: “It was great to kick off 2023 with the Council and Commissioners meeting jointly to share our concerns and vision for the future of Montgomery County.”

Jake Bohlander, Council member: “This was excellent to collaborate as a group to discuss short and long term goals to better serve the citizens of Montgomery County. Increased communication helps us be a better team to maximize investments into our community and this needs to happen more frequently.”

Gary Booth, Council member: “As we move forward on working together, we need to recognize that it is ok to disagree and then work on ironing out a plan. Once the plan is developed, then we need to be part of the team to help implement it.”

Brett Cating, Council member: “After the summit with the Commissioners on Thursdasy, it is nice to know that we have a team that wants to work together to move the county forward while being fiscally responsible.”

Joyce Grimble, Council member: “Making a commitment to serve your community means taking time to build a team of individuals who truly care about the growth and stability of our county and this meeting was the first step in that direction.”

Steve Loy, Council member: “It was a worthy meeting with a meaty agenda and an excellent team building exercise for the Commissioners and the Council. I appreciate the Commissioners taking the initiative to share information on insights, projects and priorities to move our community forward. I came out of the meeting better equipped to do my job.”

Matt Nelson, Council member: “This meeting was important for all of us to begin to work together to build a better community.”

About Montgomery County government:

Montgomery County was established in 1822 and celebrated its 200th birthday last year. The first County Commissioners meeting was held on March 1, 1822. The County is named after Revolutionary War General Richard Montgomery.

The Board of County Commissioners is the executive and legislative body for County government. The Board members are John Frey, Jim Fulwider and Dan Guard. The Board is responsible for adopting ordinances, approving contracts and implementing the policies of the County.

The County Council is the fiscal body of the County and is responsible for approving the budget, establishing salaries and considering requests from the Departments for additional appropriations or budgetary transfers. The County Council members are David Hunt, Jake Bohlander, Gary Booth, Brett Cating, Joyce Grimble, Steve Loy and Matt Nelson.