Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba and Houston County Commission Chairman Brandon Shoupe shared progress and goals for their respective governments Thursday morning at the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce.
Dothan
Saliba described a brief history of Dothan, which started with a vision for the future and the community to support that vision — and he said neither notion had gone anywhere.
“What we need to be doing now is put it into context and learn from the things that have happened, especially when it comes to finances,” he said.
He said one of Dothan’s duties was fiscal responsibility.
When it comes to spending, he shared that Dothan spends the largest chunk of its money on public safety — just under 30% of its spending — which goes not only to law enforcement but also to other emergency response efforts.
Although public safety doesn’t generate revenue, Saliba said it was a worthwhile expenditure.
While Dothan has what may seem like a significant amount of debt, he said the city had never even come close to the debt limit set by the state.
“The city of Dothan has never come close to within 100 million of (the debt limit),” he said. “We are NOT in any kind of trouble with debt… the city’s over a hundred years old, and we got a plan for the next 50 years.”
Saliba lauded the city’s opening of new fire stations, renovations of Rip Hewes Stadium, and Water World’s consistent revenue earnings after its renovations.
He said spending the money on quality of life projects was well worth it, noting the successes of Wiregrass park fields, the Grandview flag football field, BMX renovations, the Forever Wild dog park and the Doug Tew Therapeutic Rec Center.
Moving forward into “Tomorrowland,” he said millions of dollars in investments were going to allow the upcoming successes of the Opera House, events plaza, and Wiregrass Innovation Center. Plus, the city didn’t have to entirely foot the bill for the structures.
The Opera House and events plaza are expected to be completed this summer.
Dothan is also planning a new city hall project, but it will require the Dothan Eagle building to be torn down. Saliba said it would have cost much more to renovate the building rather than start from scratch.
Over $56 million was invested in the Dothan community in 2024 and over 400 jobs were created.
Furthermore, with incoming industrial projects, Saliba said the significant industry gains could change the scope of the city in the coming decade.
Saliba insisted the City of Dothan was thriving as the municipal government focused on infrastructure, entrepreneurship, innovation, agricultural emphasis, healthcare and education.
But he was adamant that Dothan’s community is integral to all its developments, a trend since the city was founded.
Houston County
Shoupe started by saying one of his favorite parts of his job is meeting new people. When he meets new residents from outside the area, he always asks what the biggest culture shock is for moving to the area; he said the most common culture shock for transplants is the kindness and welcoming attitude of the Wiregrass.
He said the Houston County Farm Center was in the forefront of the county’s priorities, and his goal was for it to be completed next year.
Shoupe also thanked the community for approving the lodging tax, highlighting at least ten recreational developments the county was planning around the area.
The county and the city are on the same page when it comes to quality of life improvements.
‘We’re going to have to elevate our game county-wide,” he said.
The investments in industrial parks was also a hot topic for Shoupe, highlighting upcoming industrial projects and the County Distribution Park’s addition of water access.
A large portion of the county’s budget goes to law enforcement as well. The county plans to raise the salaries for the sheriff and coroner.
He said the county’s debt is expected to go up this year for recreation projects and a much-needed expansion of the county jail. The county jail’s capacity has risen significantly since Covid.
He said the county also supports the Stepping Up initiative, a national move to reduce overincarceration of people with mental illness and provide better support for those with mental illness.
“The mental health issue has not gone away — the mental health issue is in our county jail,” he said.
The county also plans to support Rep. Paul Lee’s All Health measure to expand healthcare access and improve rural healthcare, without having to spend a penny of taxpayer money for 20 years.
Some areas especially in the eastern part of Houston County see a lack of health insurance and EMS access.
He praised the 17 volunteer fire stations around the county, but he said volunteer firefighting is underfunded and understaffed — not because of a lack of desire to volunteer, but because of the lack of ability to volunteer due to family and work obligations.
Some stations also have immediate needs for new pumper trucks and improvements to stations, some of which don’t even have restrooms.
Shoupe said he doesn’t think increasing funding for the current system or passing a large tax is ideal, but he does support a modest increase of financial resources to an independent body and strategically staffing departments. The county is working with local experts to design a system taxpayers would be willing to fund.
“We are going to have to raise some money,” he said.
Shoupe suggested an extra tax on vapes and adjustments of fire fees.
He said development around the county was increasing, particularly in Rehobeth. His goals were to increase infrastructure around the county to allow for that growth.
“The towns in Houston County are the growth engines of opportunity,” he said. “We have to invest in those. When (the towns) grow, we grow as well.”
