Barbara Orr

Running for: Iredell County Commissioner

Hometown: Mooresville

Occupation: CPA, Assistant to the Controller for Custom Homes Builder
Owner and operator of Property Management business

Education: Graduate of Lee H. Edwards H.S. in Asheville
Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Western Carolina University
Master of Arts in Education from Western Carolina University
CPA Certification, and two retired certifications, the CFP from College of Financial Planning in Denver, and the PFS from the AICPA
Real Estate Brokers License

What are the biggest issues facing your constituency?
There are some major issues currently facing our constituents of Iredell County. First, in all parts of the county the citizens are facing higher food bills, higher prices at the pumps, higher property taxes and higher utility costs. Second, in some parts of the county our local farmers are experiencing the higher costs and lower profits which can jeopardize staying in the business. A shortage of water has certainly been a critical issue as well. Third, the balance of farm lands for farming and land for development and recreation is critical. Fourth, there are parts of the county that has experienced huge traffic problems as the roads and infrastructure has not kept up with the growth in the county. Economic expansion is necessary to keep our taxes low, to provide the necessary jobs and a stronger law enforcement and educational system. However, we must always respect the property rights of all our citizens in Iredell County.

Of those issues, which do you feel is the most important?
The most important issue is to manage our land and resources; to balance the growth and land use of our communities; to ensure that decisions are made responsibly; and that we continue to move our County forward with the absolute best accountability over your tax dollars. We must keep our taxes low. This can be done through strategic planning and providing sound fiscal responsibility and a good steward over the budget. Expanding the economy through travel and tourism and recreation development will be crucial to the planning.

What, if any, prior experience do you have that will help you if elected?
AS a CPA, former teacher, volunteer, and a concerned citizen of Iredell, I care about all the people who live here and want to represent them in the best way that I can. My mission is to promote and make available for all our citizens the best quality of life achievable and the pursuit of a great education. As a CPA I will bring expertise to the table to provide sound fiscal responsibility as each of our citizens deserves. Over the past 25 years as a CPA I have had the opportunities to be the lead auditor for many government municipalities, therefore, have been in the position to understand how government and bureaucracy works and to know how to fix many parts of the system that is broken. I have been in the business world of accounting and consulting with governments, non-profits and real estate businesses for over 35 years. I have lived in Mooresville for 20 years and have owned and operated my CPA practice in Mooresville for over 15 years. I currently own and operate a Property Management business as well as being employed as the assistant to the Controller for a custom homes builder. I have been on the faculty of University of North Carolina in Asheville, Brevard College and Mitchell Community College. With my background in business consulting and problem solving as well as budgeting, auditing, real estate, government, education, these assets make me uniquely qualified to become your county commissioner. You deserve the leader who will meet our communities’ challenges and will bring to the table these assets that can bring forth better solutions and a common sense approach for meeting these challenges. We need “A New Direction for Iredell County”.

What is one particular thing you think the current board is doing right?
As I have continued to monitor the agenda and minutes of the current board through their website, I feel they are beginning to prepare a long-range plan for the development of land and recreational usage and have continued to go forward with the construction of the educational facilities that are badly needed in the county. They have approved the second phase of the construction which was provided by the passing of the bond referendum in 2005.

What is one particular thing you think the current board is doing wrong?
They have failed to provide for strategic planning and smart growth in some parts of the county and have continued to raise our property taxes. The failure of planning is evidenced by the high traffic problems experienced in the southern part of the county. The current board for many years has all been affiliated with one party therefore, have not been representative of the interest of all citizens in Iredell County. They have not been successful working with State government for providing this area’s fair share of the monies for road construction. When the party at the State level is different than the party at the local level things will not happen. Therefore, there must be both parties on the board to represent our community. There are political solutions for solving some of our challenges in the county.

What specifically would you do if elected in response to the county’s growth?
As a commissioner, I would work closer with the State government to provide a political solution to assist in solving the traffic issue in the county. Also I will continue to strategically plan for smart growth and good land use in the county as well as providing our many citizens with more areas of recreation and a better quality of life. We will need to be progressive in continuing our economic expansion and will continue to work toward bringing the travel and tourism into the area. We cannot forget what great resources our County has to offer and we must capitalize upon those resources. And, we should make sure we elect our officials at all levels of government who are living and working in our communities to assure that the County’s interests are served at all levels of government.

Posted on 02/11/08 at 12:46 PM
candidates •Iredell County •County Commission • (0) Comments

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