The following is a presentation of FCB Faith. This is Keeping America First with Bishop John T. Coates and Reverend Jeff Jemison on FCB Faith. Welcome to another episode of Keeping America First. We are in a very important election season coming up on us just days away. November 3rd. Today we have another great guest with us, one who's doing a lot of important things in northeast Ohio, Lake County. Today our guest is Morgan McIntosh. He is a Lake County Commissioner. Lake County County Commissioner Morgan McIntosh, how are you today, sir? I'm great, Jeff. Thanks for having me on today. I'm really happy to be here and be able to share with everybody what's going on in Lake County. Mr. McIntosh, what have you been up to? Tell us a little bit about what's going on, what things you've been working on. Just kind of give us a little introduction. Well, just for a brief bit of background, I came out of a 25-year career in small business at a young age. At the age of 30, I became a business owner when I My father passed away, so I spent 20 years in manufacturing in the private sector. About six years ago, I ran for public office as a township trustee, and then when we lost Commissioner Regovich, I came forward to be county commissioner. So I bring a unique balance of private sector and government experience. My focus is on fiscal responsibility first and foremost, and I find that a lot of elected officials have that, but My business background makes it unique in the sense that I can look at things in terms of efficiency and organizational development. We spend a lot of time talking about redundant services. I have had several meetings. You know, the commissioner's office doesn't always have the authority to do everything. You know, classic example, people ask us about data centers. Well, County commissioners don't control zoning. That's something that's controlled by the local elected leaders, the city councils, the managers, the mayors and township trustees and so forth. So I take the role that a county commissioner is a thought leader, if not a leader in legislation. So we want to work with, be leaders in the county. And I want to lead our governments, nonprofits, our educational people talking about how we can Be the most efficient and responsible with taxpayer dollars while delivering services. The county is mandated to do a lot of things in the county, social services and so forth that we have to provide. So it's important that we do it efficiently and maximize the benefit of taxpayer dollars. When we collect money, we deliver the services, but we don't waste it along the way. So that's my number one priority. Second priority is just getting all of the entities to work well together. Had a meeting morning this morning with some fellow commissioners, meeting with the educational services community. So that's the schools, Lake and Geauga, talking about how they can cut costs, how the county operations can support their effort to do more with less, lower taxpayer expenses, but again, deliver those important services. Public education is very important to all of our communities, and we don't want to see it negatively impacted by it. the budget challenges that we're all facing. We know that the tax burden has been a real issue and Lake County commissioners have really been at the forefront of reducing property taxes. We do know that for easing the burden for seniors that live in their homes. And what are some of the other things that are near and dear to your heart. And So I just want to, yeah, and I appreciate you bringing that up. There are two things that we did this year. The Lake County commissioners approved the senior homestead exemption. So the seniors that qualify get that extended and that piles on top of two exemptions offered by the state this year. Additionally, we rolled back a 10th of a mil on the crime lab collection, the levy collection, because that fund is sitting on a tremendous amount of dollars. We also helped them modernize by asking them to spend down some of those reserves. So Those were some of the things. Other priorities and things that are near and dear to me would be public safety. When I was a young man, I was heavily involved in law enforcement. That was my background. Actually, I started out on that track. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me to carry on. That's how I ended up in the private sector. But I've always put public safety first. When I was a township trustee, my very first year in elected office, during the uncertainty of the pandemic, I was a leader in trying to get the financing for Concord Township to modernize their fire stations, those dated back to the mid-60s, and needed to be made safer for the fire department, for the firefighters, which ultimately led ended up being able to deliver better service, better safety to Concord Township. I sit on the 911 Program Review Committee, so that means we look at 911 operations across the county. The accounting commissioners undertook and were in the process of completing the project to build a new safety center and jail, and that is first and foremost as far as safety for our public safety employees, for the folks that work in the jail, the sheriff's department. But I've toured that jail six or seven times since I've been a commissioner. And every time I tour it with the sheriff's staff, the corrections officers, the patrol, the chief deputy, the sheriff, I walk away with a new story about how their job will be easier, better access to health care for the prisoners, which means fewer transports, better use of the Yeah, time of the corrections officer, better storage of inventory or evidence and just better processing. It is going to be a huge accomplishment for our county and something that will be instrumental in making our community safer and just going to be an overall win for the county. When do you actually anticipate the jail project being finished? Next summer we should, this time next year we'll be in that jail right now. I believe we're targeting a move in for late June was what I heard yesterday. Um, so it's been interesting. The first time I toured it in the early winter when I was just brand new to the office, there was no walls on every floor. Now all the walls are pretty much in and, uh, it's taking shape and you can start to see all the different spaces and, uh, I'm actually learning my way around the place a little bit. Okay. Okay. Well, we certainly appreciate all that you've done as a new county commissioner. And what would you say now to the voters as to why you should be elected, why they should actually vote for you on November 3rd? At the heart of why I'm here, it's because I believe that Lake County deserves a leader with honesty, integrity, and that it's going to look out for the best interest of everyone in Lake County. Just in the 10 months I've been there, I've already established a record of meeting with stakeholders in important issues. When you talk about like the property tax exemptions, I met with the schools, I met with the local government leaders and I made what I believe was a thoughtful decision and in the best interest of the community. So I will be a leader. I came forward because I believe Lake County deserves a person that's going to be dedicated to doing the right thing and considering all the residents in the community, someone that can collaborate, work well with others, listen to all points of view. And it's a tough job being an elected official and the bigger the office, leaving the township and coming to the county. Bigger decisions, more impactful, harder to make everybody happy, but I am committed to thorough diligence and responsible decision-making and looking out for everybody's interest in Lake County. Thank you so much, Morgan McIntosh. for making that case for election on November the 3rd. And it's so important to inform our voters as to who they're voting for and just the positions that they take. And again, thank you for the beautiful job that you're doing in Lake County, keeping taxes low. and looking to improve services, which is what it's all about. So again, we thank you, Commissioner Morgan McIntosh from the great county of Lake County, Ohio. Thank you for being our guest. And we're going to have you back after November 3rd sometime during your full term. And again, to our voters, we thank you for listening. Please share this episode that we've interviewed with Lake County Commissioner Morgan McIntosh. Just like the apple. Just like the apple, yes. All right. Thank you. I'm happy to be here. Look forward to chatting with you guys again. Take care. Keep fighting the good fight for us all. To our listening audience, don't forget to vote November the 3rd. Take 10 people with you. Have a great day.
