Anthony Smith: Adjusting to the ‘new norm’

Join me in a journey through time to recall events that made history during the last few decades. Whether the historical event was war-related or an economic “correction,” the resulting economy, culture and, often, technology was very much different.

As we move away from the worst recession in our lifetime, I believe we will again experience numerous changes as our culture and economy adjust to a “new norm.”

To adjust to this “new norm,” Pinal County and its leaders must take advantage of a changing environment to identify, analyze, and implement improvements in order to better position our county for the growth that we will experience over the next several decades.

As I travel throughout Pinal County, I often receive feedback from business owners and residents regarding the need to find ways to make government more business-friendly, efficient and cost-effective. Not all comments are related to those departments that deal with development; several comments concern our court system, air quality, and other operational areas of county government.

At 137 years old, Pinal County is one of our oldest institutions. In fact, Pinal County is 37 years older than the state of Arizona. Being that old, it is hard not to put forth a “we’ve always done it that way” attitude. The bottom line is that there is no reason government has to be sluggish or behind the times.

Lacking a desire to embrace aspects of the “new norm” may impact our economic development and quality of life for decades to come. I assure you, we won’t need to look too hard to find areas within the county where we can improve processes, policies and customer relations.

On the development side of the equation and to those who choose Pinal County as their site for new developments, we need to foster a “change-agent” attitude. With a can-do attitude, it’s easy to find examples of how local governments are changing to be more efficient.