The "Infrastructure First" Plan (Justin D. Cofer)

This plan is built on the principle that growth must pay for itself and that the county must solve existing problems before creating new ones.

• The Funding Mechanism:

  • External Forensic Audit: Performing a full forensic audit of the $1.2 billion county budget to identify waste and redirect those existing funds toward infrastructure.

  • Growth Pays for Itself: Shifting the burden of infrastructure costs (roads, utilities, schools) from the taxpayer to the developers who are profiting from the growth.

  • Restricted Road Fund: Creating a legally protected fund to ensure road revenue and grants are used only for paving and maintenance, ending the practice of "raiding" these funds for the general budget.

• How it Plays Out:

  • The Backlog Shrinks: By increasing paving from the current 40 miles per year back toward the 120-mile historical average, the 3,400-mile backlog actually begins to disappear.

  • Stable Taxes: Because developers cover the cost of new capacity and audits find internal savings, the county can fix roads and schools without asking the current residents for more money.

The "Vision of Hope" Platform (Democrat Opponent)

This approach focuses on broad social services (mental health, housing for all, and education) without a specific technical roadmap for the math behind them.

• The Funding Mechanism:

  • Public-Private Partnerships: Relying on the hope that private entities will co-fund government facilities.

  • "Budget Discipline": Using general terms like "identifying inefficiencies" without a specific mechanism (like a forensic audit) to find them.

  • Tax Base Growth: Hoping that general economic growth will naturally provide enough revenue to cover massive new expenditures in housing and healthcare.

• How it Plays Out:

  • The "Hollow Promise" Trap: Without a restricted road fund or a way to make developers pay, infrastructure continues to crumble while the focus shifts to expensive new social programs.

  • Fiscal Strain: Because mental health facilities and "housing for all" are high-cost, long-term liabilities, the county would likely face a choice: raise property taxes or watch these programs remain underfunded and ineffective.

  • Infrastructure Neglect: The road backlog would continue to grow because the funding remains tied to a general fund that is being pulled in ten different directions by social initiatives.