Columbia County Commission Chair Doug Duncan has been in office for half of his elected term. He has had two years to deliver on his campaign promises.
Duncan recently invited an assessment of his achievements thus far in his term. So, how has he done?
During his campaign, Duncan listed five goals he planned to accomplish during his term as commission chair. They were to end traffic gridlock, enhance quality of life, strengthen infrastructure, invest in public safety and make Columbia County No. 1 for business.
“Columbia County has seen immense growth in the first two years of Doug’s term,” said former commissioner Trey Allen, who now serves as a member of the Georgia Lottery Board. “Under his chairmanship we’ve become one of the few counties in the nation to have a AAA bond rating with all three monitoring agencies.”
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Allen served on the commission for 12 years before his term ended earlier this month. He served his first 10 years with former Chair Ron Cross.
“I’ve been privileged to work with two fine chairmen and amazing staff over my tenure as a county commissioner,” says former commissioner Trey Allen. “Both chairmen have been dedicated servants to the people of Columbia County and have given of their time and energy to inspire, direct and manage the growth of our amazing county.”
Currently, more than 14 projects are underway to improve Columbia County roadway gridlock. One of those projects is widening Flowing Wells Road to include a center turn lane and a sidewalk/multiuse lane, says Duncan. The construction for the new roadbed is set to start in February at a cost of $20 million. Relocation of utilities has already been completed for the project.
Another upcoming road project is to add improvements including a signal light on Blanchard Road at Hereford Farm intersection, according to Duncan. This project will cost the county $435,830 and is also set to begin in February.
The various projects will continue into 2023 at a total transportation cost of $2.4 million, according to Duncan.
Duncan has also led efforts to lower property taxes and increase sales tax, an effort he says enhances quality of life for county residents by increasing the property value for citizens’ homes.
A broadband utility has been constructed for all of Columbia County. The fiber network consists of a point-of-presence facility, seven communication tower facilities and more than 270 route miles of underground fiber optic network, according to County Manager Scott Johnson. Columbia County is the only county in the Georgia with its own broadband utility.
The county is also a middle-mile provider, meaning it does not conduct business directly with their citizens. Instead a partnership with West Carolina Tel (WCTEL), an internet provider, has been created. However, other internet providers have the option to use the broad band utility for a fee paid to the county, according to Johnson. This benefits the citizens because it gives the county the ability to offer Wi-Fi to everyone in the county and there is talk of placing outdoor Wi-Fi pavilions for citizens to use, according to Duncan.
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“Duncan has been steadfast on accomplishing his goals, proper funding and policy decisions,” said Johnson about working with Duncan.
Duncan credits his enhancements of traffic gridlocks and quality of life to strengthening the infrastructure of Columbia County.
Public safety has undergone improvements, too. Budget increases for the fire department have been approved. The sheriff’s department budget has increased 12.8 percent over the last five years, according to Duncan.
A new driving course has been built for the sheriff’s department that provides more in-depth training than the stated mandated three-day driving course, according to Chief Deputy Mike Adams.
The course is in Appling, behind the sheriff’s department building there. This is a brand-new facility for Columbia County and is used by all county employees such as the fire department, according to Adams. It is one of two in the state of Georgia, said Duncan. Columbia County shares the facility with other sheriff departments across the state, Duncan says.
The Columbia County Fire Department is one of only six departments in Georgia, and of 248 in the nation out of 47,000 departments, with an Insurance Service Office rating of one, says Duncan. He hopes to add two additional fire stations within the next two years.
As a businessman, Duncan desires for Columbia County to become number one in business. He has helped lower the maintenance and operation costs from a 6.402 percent in 2015 to 5.99 percent in 2021. This is the fund that pays for the county’s daily functions, duties and labor. Every decision he makes is to increase Columbia County’s business says Duncan.
Duncan plans to work with the community to continue to meet the objectives he set out to achieve when he first took office. He says he will continue to balance the budget every year and lower the millage rate for property rates.
“Maintaining growth of our county through traffic projects and continuing our quality of life projects should be the focus of the next two years,” said Allen about what he would like to see Duncan accomplish for the next half of his term.
Haley Knight is a contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at haley.knight@TheAugustaPRESS.com
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