Candidate Biography
Steve Phillips, 2698 Gray’s Bend Road, Centerville, TN 37033
County Commissioner – 5th District
Born 1956
Retired Auditor
Not married; no children — parents: the late Hugh Phillips and the late Laverne Dorton Phillips
Hickman County High School, class of 1974
Post-Secondary Education:
- Columbia State Community College – Associate of Science, accounting major – 1978 & 1979
- Austin Peay State University – Bachelor of Science, accounting major – 1980
- Nashville School of Law – Doctor of Jurisprudence – 2012
- Tennessee Technology Center, Dickson – welding – 2012
Accomplishments:
- Licensed CPA in Tennessee since 1983
- Licensed attorney in Tennessee since 2012
- Retired from Tennessee Comptroller’s office, Division of State Audit after 30 years
- Assisted in creation of the Hickman County Archives
Hobbies: History, genealogy, hunting, fishing
Major Goals:
1) Keep property tax demands on county citizens as reasonable as possible,
2) Encourage economic growth and development without unreasonable new regulatory and tax demands on current residents,
3) Upgrade county facilities and roads
How to help Hickman County progress? To inform and educate county residents of the scope and restrictions of county operations and to encourage the participation of all citizens in policy making, service, and voting
What is the role of government, as you see it?
The role of government is to provide services and civil structure that cannot be accomplished by individuals or small groups of individuals.
In what ways (if any) should the current county budget be re-aligned?
I would like to see more local money provided to the highway department for improvements to local roads. There are areas in the budget that I would like to see reduced but those costs are required by state and federal laws and regulations.
What are your top three goals for Hickman County, and how, specifically, would you work toward them as a commissioner?
What is your opinion on changing the composition or compensation (particularly health insurance benefit) of the county commission?
I would prefer to see two commissioners from each of the seven districts, cut the monthly salary to $100 but pay mileage for attended committee and commission meetings, and eliminate access to the county’s health insurance program for part-time elected officials.
By default, how will you advocate resolving budget shortfalls?
There is not a simple answer to budget shortfalls. Costs and services should be constantly reviewed to a) provide those services that are required by law or regulation or that have a major benefit to county citizens and b) to deliver those services efficiently at the lowest reasonable cost. After costs and services have been reviewed and found to be justified, continuing yearly costs require that taxes be raised to the level to meet those annual costs. However, if the cost is associated with an asset that will be in service for a lengthy period, like a bridge, building, or land purchase; it would be foolish to try to meet such cost without borrowing money and spreading the cost of repaying the loan over a term of years.
When it comes to things like cleanup resolutions, animal control, etc, would you prefer to err on the side of the communities’ interests, or in the rights of the individual?
There isn’t a simple answer to this question, either. Everyone can agree that they enjoy seeing a beautiful community without litter and decaying buildings. No one wants to see animals suffer or pose a danger to innocent bystanders. The means of getting to these end goals brings to mind the old saying, “The devil’s in the details”. Each individual proposal or resolution has to be reviewed with a critical eye to the benefits to the collective citizenry versus the obvious or potential trampling of the individual’s rights. Sometimes the benefits to the community outweigh the intrusion on the individual, just like taxing the individual to pay for educating children and maintaining the roads. Sometimes the effect on the individual is so great and the benefit to the community is so small that the individual’s rights should be upheld. Each proposal or resolution should undergo such an analysis before an answer is apparent. This question brings to mind another old saying, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”