2025 Top 3
Jailhouse Jam & My Top 3 Priorities for 2025
#1: Public Safety
We need to get a handle on public safety in 2025. And doing so tops my agenda for the year. Our jail is above capacity, our volunteer fire fighters are on the financial struggle bus, we almost lost a volunteer rescue squad in 2024–and may lose one in 2025.
Jailhouse Jam
For two years, our jail population has exceeded capacity, and relief isn’t coming. A potential expansion, with a price tag exceeding $40 million, might not happen until the end of the decade. In the meantime, we’ll continue exploring alternatives to manage this pressing issue. But make no doubt, the Commission must expand it’s jail. It will do so willingly or by court order. And ultimately, if we want to get criminals off the streets, we have to have a place for them to go.
Fired Up, But Burned Out
Houston County has 17 volunteer fire stations throughout the county.
These departments operate with shoestring budget of $793,000 annually:
$400,000 (roughly) per year from the $30 fire fee assessed to most structures outside the City of Dothan
$393,000 (again, approximate) allocated by the County Commission each year from the county tobacco tax
This breaks down to just $21.31 per person, a fraction of Dothan’s $348.11 per resident funding for its fire department.
The system is financially strained, and dwindling volunteers make it unsustainable. We created a task force last year that’s working hard to create a better path forward. I maintain regular contain with it’s Chairman, Mark Powell, and am optimistic they’ll draw up solutions soon.
Volunteer Rescue Mission
Volunteer rescue squads are faring better financially than fire stations but face their own hurdles. In 2024, one squad nearly dissolved due to alleged financial impropriety. Another could face closure this year due to funding shortages and lack of volunteers.
To bolster EMS services, we’re backing the All Health program, which will improve reimbursements through insurance and stabilize funding for Alabama’s hospitals.
#2: Resurfacing 50+ Miles of County Roads
This year, we’ll resurface more roads than we have in years, tackling some of the county’s older, neglected stretches. It’s just a start, but it’s progress.
#3 Back to the Farm Center
The Farm Center is finally getting its long-overdue makeover! By late 2025 or early 2026, Houston County will have a Farm Center we can all be proud of again.
Have feedback? Let me know your thoughts about these topics or others. And thanks again for the opportunity to serve you.
