Rural Issues

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Rural Issues Committee

The Cumberland Region Tomorrow Rural Issues Committee provides direction and support for CRT to use its expertise in growth planning related to rural conservation, design and development issues and opportunities. Emphasis is placed on bringing the region’s rural community into growth and sustainably planning efforts that mesh rural and urban areas of the region and at the same time enhance the quality and integrity of rural life. The end goal of this committee is to help rural and urban areas throughout the ten-county region compliment and strengthen each other respectively.

Objectives
The Rural Issues Committee objectives are to:

• Utilize committee members extensive knowledge of rural issues and contacts
• Create collaborative relationships and actions with key Rural Issues partners
• Increase awareness of Rural Issues and Opportunities throughout our ten-county region
• Provide tools and resources that address Rural Issues and Opportunities and support our region’s key issue of Open Space Conservation
• Increase capacity to provide training and technical assistance to key constituents related to the region’s Rural Issues
• Implement new Rural Issues Tools and Resources through pilot Quality Growth Projects in the region

Committee Members
John L. Batey: Farmer, Batey Farms
Joe Elliot: Principal, Robert Elliott & Sons Angus
Darwin Newton: Program Manager, NRCS*
Joe Pearson: Chief Administrative Officer, TN Farm Bureau Federation
Lynnisse Roehrich-Patrick: Associate Executive Director, TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations*

Cost of Community Services Study

A cost of community services study performed by the American Farmland Trust is one national model that can be used by communities to understand the cost of community services on a county level scale. This methodology analyzes revenues and expenditures on a land use basis… residential, commercial/industrial, and farmland… for a specific fiscal year. Revenues by these land use categories and fiscal demands of public services (e.g. public safety, government administration, schools, courts, etc.) are examined to show the cost of providing these services to residential, commercial/industrial and farmland uses. Results of these studies provide local government decision makers a snapshot in time description of the net cost to local county governments by land use types for a particular fiscal year.

Agriculture Economic Profiles

The CRT Rural Agriculture Economic Profile highlights the value of the rural economy within each of the ten counties in our region. These profiles demonstrate that conserving our rural landscape is an economic decision as well as protecting beautiful places.
 
 
 

GIS Greenprint Tools for Quality Growth

Our web-based publication and project is a significant part of enhancing our region’s rural economy. The information in this report is intended to provide a better basis for decision making as projected impacts and costs of land use and transportation decisions are being made and land resource conservation priorities are included in local and regional plans. Consolidated GIS information can also assist other lead agencies identify and establish land, water, natural and cultural resource priorities and use existing resources for strategic land conservation within the scope of their activities and missions.