Join Aaron Keck every Tuesday afternoon for Chatham County Roundup, a recurring series that shines the spotlight on Chatham County through engaging discussions and interviews with locals, newsmakers, officials and more. 

This week on Chatham County Roundup, join 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck for a conversation with Chatham County Commissioner Karen Howard, where they discuss outreach plans for the 2020 census and current plans for Chatham County’s budget.

“We do have a potential additional tax on the March 3rd referendum,” said Howard, “And that would be a quarter cent sales tax, which would really just get us where a lot of the surrounding counties are with their sales tax, and that would help us meet a lot of our obligations with regard to school infrastructure. But also we are looking at some growth needs. So you know, these are the growing pains of a county like Chatham that’s been largely rural and quickly becoming more heavily residential.”

Among the issues currently being worked through in terms of budget and planning are school infrastructure and staffing, preservation of natural land and resources, affordable housing and more.

“We are looking at how we can start setting aside land, potentially for some preservation of land, and we have a significant challenge with affordable housing. So [the question is] how could we meet some of the affordable housing needs without putting an additional financial burden on the citizens that are already there.”

Listen below for the full conversation, including details on the implementation of the 2020 census, upcoming events and initiatives in Chatham, and more.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
‹
2020 Census to be Printed Without Citizenship Question
Days after the U.S. Supreme Court halted the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau has started the process of printing the questionnaire without the controversial query. Trump administration attorneys notified parties in lawsuits challenging the question that the printing of the hundreds of millions of documents for the […]
Judge: New Documents Warrant Further Look at Census Question
A federal judge said Wednesday that he’s inclined to reexamine whether a proposed 2020 census citizenship question violates the rights of minorities after reviewing newly discovered documents from a deceased political operative. U.S. District Judge George Hazel of Maryland ruled that plaintiffs have produced enough evidence to warrant reopening the case, even though he already […]
Fearing an Undercount, States Prepare for 2020 Census Push
In a squat office building not far from downtown, Esperanza Guevara is getting ready to look for people who might not want to be found. And her job could get a lot harder. The immigrant-rights activist is leading a drive to reach tens of thousands of people who entered the U.S. illegally and persuade them […]
What’s in the Voting Bill That Republicans Are Pushing to the Senate Floor
Legislation that would require proof of U.S. citizenship for new voters has become a rallying cry for President Donald Trump, who claims that passage of the bill will “guarantee the midterms” for his Republican Party in November.
Trump’s Executive Order on Elections Is Far-Reaching. But Will It Actually Stick?
President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking broad changes to how elections are run in the U.S. is vast in scope and holds the potential to reorder the voting landscape across the country.
Supreme Court Seems in No Hurry To Rule on Trump Plea to Rein In Judges Over Birthright Citizenship
The Supreme Court seems to be in no hurry to address the ability of a single judge to block a nationwide policy order by President Trump.
Half a Million Immigrants Could Eventually Get US Citizenship Under a New Plan From Biden
Written by SEUNG MIN KIM President Joe Biden is taking an expansive election year step to offer relief to potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants without legal status in the U.S., aiming to balance his own aggressive crackdown on the southern border earlier this month that enraged advocates and many Democratic lawmakers. The White House announced Tuesday that […]
Joe Biden To Propose 8-Year Citizenship Path for Immigrants
President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies. The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on […]
Chatham County Roundup: Chatham, COVID-19 and The Census
Join Aaron Keck every Tuesday afternoon for Chatham County Roundup, a recurring series that shines the spotlight on Chatham County through engaging discussions and interviews with locals, newsmakers, officials and more.    This week on Chatham County Roundup, join Aaron Keck for a discussion with Chatham County Commissioner Karen Howard about how Chatham is responding […]
Chatham County Roundup: The Budget, The Census and Local Government
Join Aaron Keck every Tuesday afternoon for Chatham County Roundup, a recurring series that shines the spotlight on Chatham County through engaging discussions and interviews with locals, newsmakers, officials and more.  This week on Chatham County Roundup, join 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck for a conversation with Chatham County Commissioner Karen Howard, where they discuss […]
›