Chesterfield County’s Administrator focused on things to look forward to in the coming year for his State of the County address on Wednesday. He also gave a room of business leaders a short lesson in local government as well.
County Administrator Joe Casey ticked off a list of wins for the area that includes almost $250 Million in economic growth and 2000 new jobs. Some of those employers are the paper company Cartograf, two solar farms in the county and the used car company Carvana, which could add 400 jobs to the area.
Another highlight Casey noted, is that Chesterfield County was one of the few local government agencies ranked among Virginia companies on Forbes magazine’s list of " Best In-State Employers" in America.
When asked about hurdles, Casey says county’s biggest is getting the 350,000 residents to understand what local government is and isn’t.
“They really think we’re the state sometimes, they think we’re the Federal government, they talk to us as if we are both of them,” Casey explained.
At the same time, Casey wants residents to know local elected officials are still listening.
“We can pass on those comments that we may get to state or federal legislatures,” he added.
Chesterfield County officials presented their local elected representatives for the General Assembly a package of priorities, which mainly focused on more school funding. The 2020 General Assembly Session starts Jan. 8.
