CENTRAL VALLEY – Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus delivered what he called his abridged State of the County Address Thursday during a morning gathering of public officials and business leaders hosted by the Orange County Chamber of Commerce.
Neuhaus, who was first elected to the county’s top job in 2014, is a commander with the U.S. Navy Reserve and was unable to attend the breakfast due to a current deployment. He pre-recorded his remarks before joining the group for a brief Q/A via a conference call.
“If you travel around the world, you will see the opportunities exist nowhere like they do in the United States, and we still have that” he said. “We can get piece of that action in Orange County, if we have been lucky to already gotten that piece of action, because we are so pro-business.”
In his travels and conversations with residents, Neuhaus said the common question he is asked the most is what the county can do for the single mom or dad, family, or young men and women just starting out in their careers. He believes the answer is actually quite simple: keeping taxes down. Using the state of Florida as an example, Neuhaus said the Sunshine State has an excellent model for tourism and that concept is no different than what’s here in Orange County.
“Other counties have gone double digits when it comes to property taxes. Cities and towns have gone double digits. And that really hurts family members and puts pressure on business owners,” Neuhaus said at the beginning of his presentation. “When places like Woodbury Common or other places do well, that offsets property taxes. Because we’re so business friendly and take businesses by the hand, we’re able to keep those property tax rates down. Remember, we’re not only trying to keep people here, but attract people here, as well.”
On that point, Neuhaus said the county continues to work with organizations like the Orange County Land Trust and Open Space Institute on its mission of improving quality of life for residents. This draws on Orange County’s natural appeal and very own atmosphere – a feeling shared by members of the Orange County Legislature. According to Neuhaus, the legislature has unanimously supported all of his proposals when it comes to open space preservation. He noted that applications are currently flowing in from around the county.
Neuhaus added that improvements are also continuing at the former Camp LaGuardia property and Sugar Loaf Mountain – with the plan to ultimately make those areas into county parks with trails and other recreational amenities. The Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center is also experiencing a significant makeover since the county officially acquired it more than a year ago, Neuhaus said. But despite the success and promise of those projects, he remarked that he’d be remiss if he didn’t discuss county infrastructure. A topic that came up during his Q/A with participants and one the county executive didn’t mince words on.
“Investing in infrastructure is one of the critical messages I want to send to you. You’ve driven on roads that are deteriorating and parks that are closed. We are investing heavily in county parks and county roads,” Neuhaus said. “I get excited when I see a rusty bridge getting fixed or a road that’s getting repaved. Route 17 is an embarrassment. When we try to bring businesses here, it’s embarrassing when we show them state infrastructure that’s been neglected. So, we do what we can and fortunately, we have incredible men and women in our county who take pride in doing a lot of work in-house and partnering with those who can get it done.”
Neuhaus said he’s been meeting regularly with numerous contractors from around the region and talking about the millions of dollars being invested in infrastructure. Better and safer roads mean better emergency services and public safety, he said.
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