bvelliquettte@heraldsun.com; 419-6632
HILLSBOROUGH -- Earl McKee, a farmer in northeastern Orange County, has announced plans to run for the Orange County Board of Commissioners in 2010.
McKee, 57, and his wife both were born in Orange County and attended Orange County Schools.
He feels he knows and understands the county and has been studying its issues during the past year to learn even more about it.
For the past year, he's been attending nearly every single County Commission meeting to learn about the issues and to determine if he has enough time to devote to the job.
"It takes a massive amount of time," he said. "I'm willing to put in the time and effort."
One of the issues McKee is keenly interested in is the budget and holding the line on property taxes.
"I think we're going to need to watch budgetary issues very closely over the next several years," he said.
McKee doesn't imagine making cuts to basic services, such as law enforcement, social services or schools, but there are projects he believes should be delayed for a while, he said.
"We may have to delay parkland development," he said.
He also would be hesitant to start any new building projects in the next few years.
"Orange County has been on a building spree for the last several years," he said.
It's reached its debt ceiling and shouldn't go into any more debt, he said.
McKee also would be interested in making the economic development areas site-ready to attract more businesses and industry and make the approval process easier, he said.
More commercial activity will remove some of the tax burden from homeowners, he said.
"If we make the cost of living so high, people will go elsewhere," he said.
McKee is running for the District 2 seat being vacated by Mike Nelson, who has announced he does not plan to run in 2010.
McKee was a founding member of the Caldwell Fire Department in the late 1970s and currently serves as the chairman of its board of directors.
Renee Price has also announced she plans to run for that seat.
