State of the County address in 2022: 4 things the mayor wants you to know

County Mayor Rogers Anderson on Tuesday presented his State of the County address in Franklin before members of Williamson County's vast business community.

The annual event, hosted by Williamson Inc., the county's chamber of commerce, offers a snapshot of the county's economy in the realm of education, health, government and more.

Anderson, who has served as mayor since 2002, is running for reelection this year.

Here are four things to know from Anderson's 2022 State of the County address.

Previous news: New parks, city hall plans and a new police chief: Williamson County mayors look ahead to 2022

From 2021: State of Williamson County: Mayor talks exploding property values, expanding broadband

Big budget boosts

With a boom in population across Williamson County Schools in recent years, costs have also skyrocketed.

Since 2020, the county's budget has risen by almost $97 million — from $626 million to $723 million in the newly-approved budget for the 2022-2023 school year.

The county's 1987 budget was just over $40 million.

Over 68% of this overall budget funds Williamson County Schools, according to the county. This year's allocations comes out to $492 million, up from just over $407 million in 2020.

The largest revenue source for the county is local taxes — 24%.

American Rescue Plan Act set to address rural broadband issues

By 2023, Williamson County is set to receive around $45 million in federal funds as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Money associated with ARPA must be utilized to support relief directly tied to the coronavirus pandemic. County commissioners have approved funding for accounting services to manage the money, as well as to better address broadband issues across the county.

Residents in more rural parts of the county, such as Fairview, and from areas with more recent growth, such as greater Nolensville, its surrounding areas to the south and unincorporated parts of Franklin, have faced issues accessing internet services. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, especially, Anderson said improving broadband and cell service has become a priority.

"When students were tasked with remote learning and employees were required to work from home, it soon became apparent that many of our rural areas of the county did not have any, or sufficient, access to the internet," the county mayor said.

"Though the school system, our library system and our parks and recreation departments worked diligently to provide internet access via remote public facilities, it was still not adequate to meet the needs of our residents."

Big changes ahead for medical center

Williamson Medical Center's expansion will be funded through $6 million of the ARPA funds, Anderson said. Earlier this year, Williamson Medical Center broke ground on the $200 million project, marking the nonprofit hospital's largest renovation to date.  

Williamson County's population is expected to double by 2040 and the population of people 65 years of age and older is expected to increase by over 23% in the next five years.

With this knowledge and with the need for improved and expanded emergency services realized during the pandemic, the county's government has committed to supporting these endeavors, as well as the purchase of three new ambulances.

In other news: Williamson County Commission approves millions for next phase of this project

More from Anika Exum: Why Williamson County parents are suing school district, state education commissioner

14% rise in jobs across county

Anderson shared that a recent economic report by EMSI found that the number of Williamson County jobs increased by 14.1% between 2016 and 2021.

The county's job growth has outpaced the national average, which sits at 13.4%, according to the report.

"Government does not create jobs," Anderson said. "However, government can provide the environment to attract jobs.

"Williamson County has always prioritized quality education, top-notch law enforcement and public safety and parks and leisure services which are key factors considered when companies are looking at our community...(Companies) want the same for their employees and their families as we do and I will continue to place an emphasis on these services throughout our county."

Anika Exum is a reporter covering Williamson County for The Tennessean and the USA Today Network Tennessee. Reach her at 615-347-7313, via email at aexum@tennessean.com or on Twitter @aniexum.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: State of the County address: What County Mayor Rogers Anderson said