Chaz Molder, Mayor, City of Columbia

In an interview with Invest:, Chaz Molder, mayor of Columbia, discussed the efforts the local government has made in order to be good stewards of the residents’ tax dollar, highlighting the focus on the communities’ quality of life. “The best form of government is local government, because we focus on solving issues with practical solutions,” Molder said.

What recent changes have affected the City of Columbia?

We’ve seen a record year yet again of growth and investment in Maury County, ranked second in Tennessee for incoming investment. Being the county seat, and the largest populated municipality within the county, Columbia drives that growth in a lot of ways. There’s a 297-unit upscale apartment complex being built downtown, which will bring a lot of commerce and activity in the district, and lead to small businesses thriving. We also remain the third-fastest-growing county in the state of Tennessee.

How do you balance encouraging growth with maintaining the residents’ quality of life?

That’s the conversation among all growing communities in our region. Not all growth is good, and not all growth is bad. There’s a middle ground to be had. We have to invest in our infrastructure. For example, we’re currently in the beginning stages of an 18-month construction period for a $100 million wastewater treatment plant. It’s a huge piece of our overall municipal government since wastewater management is a vital governmental service that must be provided. Our wastewater treatment plant was not only stretched thin, but more importantly, was outdated. This project will ensure adequate wastewater resources for the next 50 years. In the shorter term, we just completed a $4.5 million street paving project. Public safety investments are also important. We just completed a $4.8 million renovation to our flagship fire station in downtown Columbia. These investments are not always going to pay for themselves dollar for dollar, but investing in the infrastructure is always a good way to support balanced growth.

What are Columbia’s most pressing priorities?

We have to recognize that affordability is very much on people’s minds. We cannot allow growth to become such a cost burden that we have to drive up prices, and raise taxes. Over the last seven years in Columbia, we’ve not had any property tax increases. Instead, we’ve been able to find ways for growth to pay for itself. For example, we enacted an impact fee on new wastewater connections. This allows new connections to help make an investment into the $100 million covering the cost of the new wastewater treatment facility. We can’t just burden our taxpayers on these costs. We have to find creative ways, perhaps through state and federal grants. We’ve also been able to find public-private partnership opportunities. We find ways for the private sector to get involved and make investments, because we know that the private sector is benefiting from a lot of our growth.

How do you ensure that downtown revitalization benefits all residents? 

The $300,000 Downtown Improvement Grant allows property owners to make investments in their property and receive grant funds to match their investments. A lot of the property owners are actually going above and beyond what the match allows. They’re making improvements to their buildings that they would not have made otherwise. Some are even going above the match, and making additional improvements. When they’re able to obtain grant dollars to improve their buildings, they do not have to pass down the money to their customers. If we’re helping the property owners make investments in their own buildings, we’re hopefully alleviating some of the cost that would otherwise be passed down to the tenants. The tenants could be a small business owner providing income for our residents, as well as goods and services, whose tax dollars can stay in Columbia. 

How would you translate local governing experience to the federal level if you’re in Congress?

One of the things that prepared me for Congress, if I’m so fortunate to be there, is the experience in finding practical solutions to real world problems, instead of just offering political rhetoric. We’re seeing too much political rhetoric in Washington, D.C., and people just want a government that works for them. People expect that the government will be good stewards of their tax dollars. That’s what we’ve done in Columbia. Not only have we exercised sound fiscal management, but we’ve been transparent, and the public is aware of it. The Triple Crown award we received from the Government Finance Officers Association highlights our transparency with respect to the management of taxpayers’ dollars. The best form of government is local government because we focus on solving issues with practical solutions.

What legacy do you hope to leave in Columbia and what exciting projects are imminent?

I want people to remember me as a mayor who strived to do what was right: uniting people during a period of national division, and fostering community cohesion by rising above political rhetoric. My focus has always been on issues that directly impact people’s lives. While state and national governments may seem disconnected, local government remains closely engaged and communicates directly with its constituents. 

Another important thing to highlight is the partnership between Maury Regional Health and The University of Tennessee Health Science Center. It has opened up the opportunity to train more doctors in our region, so we can have more doctors that choose to come back here. Generally speaking, if they train in the area, they’re going to be more inclined to at least look to stay in that area. In addition, we recently acquired the Columbia Aquatics and Recreation Center. We think it’s worth making the expense, and we’ve already seen the return on investment. We’ve had three times the number of memberships the previous owner had. It’s kept three swimming pools open in a community that otherwise doesn’t have swimming pools, and allowed new programming in our community.