Chesterfield County Administrator Joe Casey delivers his "state of the county" address. (Photo by Sarah King)
In his "state of the county" address Wednesday, Chesterfield County Administrator Joe Casey spoke to more than 300 people at the new six-story Chesterfield Technical Center off Hull Street. With a backdrop of three blue banners, each reading “SCHOOLS,” behind him, Casey emphasized the importance of the county’s continued focus on education and public safety.
“I know [Chamber] board members love to come out to the community as well, so please don’t think of this as a one-and-done presentation today,” Casey told the audience at the sold-out event, hosted by the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce and ChamberRVA.
Notably, he underscored the county’s achievement in all 61 of Chesterfield’s schools receiving full accreditation this year — a feat he noted is, “quite frankly unheard of.”
Approximately 5,000 students graduated from Chesterfield County schools last year, and Casey said he sees this as a “return on investment,” and hopes a robust graduation rate will feed back into the local economy in the form of jobs and job growth.
Another area Casey highlighted at length was the county’s public safety and police department. He congratulated Jeffrey Katz, the county's new chief of police, and thanked Interim Chief Dan Kelly for his service leading the department until Katz is sworn in on Jan. 2, 2018.
Katz hails from Florida, and will assume leadership of a department that just recently gained national accreditation for the first time this year. One of the challenges he will face — like most departments across the region — is staffing.
“We need to recruit the best, we need to retain the best,” Casey said before the Chamber. “It’s a competitive market, and we need to compete — frankly — nationally.”
Another area Casey touched on was local transportation, noting that Chesterfield recently was awarded $70 million in funding for projects from the Virginia Department of Transportation. A change going into the new year, he said, is that the county’s five-year plan aims to funnel 100 percent of vehicle license fees into road improvements.
As Casey wrapped up the presentation, he touched on the importance of Chesterfield’s history and the county’s recent 400th anniversary celebration at Henricus Historical Park.
“A lot of areas can say Pocahontas’ name as an asset, but we can say she lived here,” Casey said. “She may have moved around, crossed over, paid a toll or two …" he trailed off as the audience laughed.
