Frankfort, Ky. – To call attention to the many partnerships that have enabled Kentucky’s communities to both survive the recession and come out of it poised to grow, Gov. Steve Beshear has released a “snapshot” of state investments in each of Kentucky’s counties over the last eight years.
The snapshots, available on the Office of the Governor’s website, present a separate, detailed list for each of Kentucky’s 120 counties in areas such as transportation, health care and job creation.
Click here to see the “County-by-County Investment Snapshots”
“When I took office as Governor in 2007, Kentuckians had lost faith in their government, and a global recession was taking away jobs, homes and health care,” Gov. Beshear said. “Today, thanks to our partnership with a lot of people in a lot of areas, Kentucky’s economy is setting records, and our families are again getting high return on the money and trust they invest in their leaders.”
Those partnerships – in areas like road planning and building, agriculture, education and job development – were particularly important, the governor said, because the recession was so devastating to Kentucky and many other states.
“Through hard work and steady leadership by a lot of people, I knew Kentucky would recover from the recession,” Gov. Beshear said. “But I didn’t want us to emerge shell-shocked and shattered. I wanted us to come out of it able and ambitious – poised to be more competitive economically and to raise the quality of life of our people.”
That philosophy guided the many investments in Kentucky’s counties and cities, investments that relied heavily on the suggestions and work of local officials, the Governor said. Many of them also required approval from the Kentucky General Assembly via the budget or other legislation.
For each county, the news releases discuss projects and initiatives such as:
- Major road projects, both finished and in the works;
- Job creation numbers;
- Projects designed to diversify Kentucky’s agriculture industry;
- Grants that increase energy efficiency of government buildings;
- The innovative Work Ready Community program, which assures prospective businesses of the quality of local workforces;
- Community development investments, such as for sewers, senior centers and housing;
- Access to health care;
- Grants for local law enforcement; and
- Tourism.
Altogether, Kentucky’s counties have seen billions of dollars in construction of roads and other infrastructure, billions in new economic investments and huge decreases in unemployment rates and numbers of people who don’t have health insurance.
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