LOCAL LEADERSHIP

Commissioner Cynthia Long

Cynthia Long has served Williamson County as Commissioner for Precinct 2 since 2007. She enjoys mentoring youth and young adults, fishing, snow skiing, and the beach. She has been married to her husband, Donn, for 34 years and they are active members at Hill Country Bible Church, Lakeline Campus, serving in the youth group ministry. The Liberty Hill Digest sat down with the Commissioner to talk about her leadership and community involvement to help readers get to know the person and the personality on the dais. LHD: Tell us a little about yourself before you were elected County Commissioner. CL: I worked in various technical positions before moving into IT management and founded my own IT consulting company in 1997, focusing on information technology and project management. My clients were based in the U.S., Central and South America, and Europe.

Prior to my election to the court, I was elected twice to the Cedar Park City Council, served on the Cedar Park Planning and Zoning Commission and the Round Rock Medical Center Board of Directors. I also helped start and was the founding Chair of the Twin Lakes Family YMCA. I am currently serving on the Board of Trustees of the Cedar Park Regional Medical Center. LHD: What are some of the big issues, as you see them, in the county right now? CL: Williamson County is one of the best places to live in the nation. People and businesses are continuing to prove it every day as they move to our great community. Staying ahead of the explosive growth remains one of the biggest challenges. Our new neighbors drive on our roads, use our emergency services, enjoy our parks, and more. On all of those fronts, we have been planning for future growth. Striking the balance of meeting current demands, maintaining what is special about Williamson County and our cities, and planning for future neighbors will continue to be a major focus of what I do. LHD: What are some of your current projects and goals? CL: My goals for the County continue to be to make Williamson County the place where people want to live, work, learn, worship, and play. Areas I focus on are transportation, parks, reducing taxes, and public safety. Through my transportation focus on the Commissioner’s Court and the overwhelming support of the voters, Williamson County has had multiple successful bond elections, which provided the funding to complete 181 projects, add 353 new capacity lane miles, and 439 reconstructed lane miles. As Chair of the 22-person, six county Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), I have helped bring hundreds of millions of dollars to transportation improvement projects in our County.

On February 7, Commissioner Long received the 2021 TXDOT Road Hand Award. She was chosen, statewide, as the individual who has made significant contibutions to transportation, not just in her own area but in the region and across Texas.

As we grow, making sure we have parks and trails for our citizens becomes more important. In my tenure, and with voter approval, we have added more than 2,400 acres of parkland, preserves, and trails to the Williamson County Parks system, providing amazing recreational opportunities for our citizens.

On safety, making sure Williamson County remains a safe community is of paramount importance. That is why I have consistently supported law enforcement with ample funding and tools to do their important jobs. Additionally, we have focused on the growing mental health issues

Civics and Success

Taking time out to judge a high school science fair.

faced by some of our citizens by providing law enforcement and local mental health professionals with more resources to address this important challenge. LHD: What can you share with us about a popular reader topic, taxes? CL: Providing necessary funding for everything we've talked about while maintaining an affordable tax rate takes dedication and focus. In 2021, I was proud to lead the effort on the Court that resulted in historic changes to homestead exemptions for all residences, individuals over 65, and disabled persons. Increases to those exemptions, coupled with a reduction in the tax rate, led to a reduction in the average residential property tax bill.

Ensuring the property tax burden doesn’t unduly rest on individual residents is why I have focused so much on recruiting businesses with quality, good paying jobs. Having more employers in the county helps diversify the tax base and keeps residents from having to commute to other counties to go to work. It really is a win-win.

LHD: How would you describe your leadership style and how can your constituents learn more?

CL: In my days as a consultant, my job was solving problems for my clients and achieving their goals. I carry that mentality into everything I do as a commissioner. We accomplish so many things that serve the citizens that never make the headlines. Harry Truman once famously said, "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." I am blessed with a great staff and we always welcome the opportunity to visit with constituents. Just call the office and we will set up a time to visit. LHD: Tell me about the unique ways you engage with the community. CL: I really enjoy working with youth, whether teaching a Bible study, judging science fairs or, what I really love —teaching about local government. I teach an engaging 70-minute class that explains city government in a relatable way. I describe what a city does, what services they provide, and how they pay for it, including fees, property taxes, and tax rates. Then I divide the class into groups. One group is the 'city council' and the others are demographically diverse 'neighborhoods.' Each group has a worksheet with last year's budget ($100M) and I give them a list of projects that total about $150M; e.g., a new park or additional police officers. The neighborhoods present their budget ideas to the city council and advocate for their needs and wants. The city council votes on a budget and tax rate. I remind the council anything over $100M means a tax increase. The students really enjoy engaging in the mock city council budget process and hopefully encourages them to get involved in their community.

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