County board made the right call in looking out for county residents

People run for elected office or get involved in government because they want to make a positive change in their community and the world.

Sometimes those positive changes are small things, like getting the potholes fixed on a busy road or a stop sign installed at a dangerous intersection. Other times changes are bigger with the ability to impact people’s lives for decades to come.

At Monday’s Taylor County Board meeting, members took action on a full agenda of topics ranging from the future of county dams to the work schedules for county employees. On that crowded schedule two items stood out that will have the potential to have a real and positive impact on the community for decades to come.

The first was the approval for the county to apply for community development block grant funds on behalf of Taylor County Supportive Housing for the purchase of a building to be used as a homeless shelter.

Lack of housing security is a very real issue in the county, one that impacts those most at risk the hardest. Homelessness in rural America looks different than the stereotypes you see in more urban areas. It involves couch surfing until you run out of friends to stay with, sleeping in cars or sometimes storage units and in the warmer months moving from one campground to another.

Waking up in the morning and knowing you don’t have a secure place to lay your head that night impacts the decisions people make and the behaviors in workplaces and schools.

Taylor County Supportive Housing wants to break the cycles that lead to homelessness and instead allow people an opportunity to get back on their feet and find personal security. The group has a long way to go in developing a policy and procedure plan, purchasing a location and gaining the necessary zoning permits needed to open. Yet, the unanimous vote of county board members to approve applying for the grant opens the door to opportunity that would have otherwise remained closed for years to come.

The second noteworthy action was the approval of a new revolving loan program that will assist middle and low income residents with replacing their failing septic systems.

Not only does the program address the significant problem of ground and surface water contamination from failed septic systems, but it does so in a way that allows people to remain in their homes and protects property values.

Under the program, people who are unable to get financing through other means can secure a loan from the county to replace their failed systems. The county, with the power to place the loan amount on the parcel’s property tax bill, is well-protected, while at the same time provides a valuable boost for residents. Even the opposition to the program didn’t disagree with its good intention, but rather raised the legitimate concern of if the county should be serving the role of a bank.

An important point to remember is that the program is not intended to take the place of traditional financing sources but will serve to fill in the gaps and prevent people falling through them.

People get involved in government to make positive changes. Members of the Taylor County Board deserve praise for taking the progressive stand to address the needs of residents in a way that will impact the county for decades to come.